It is Important to Remove Mercury/Amalgam Fillings Safely

Removing amalgam without the proper precautions is dangerous!

 The Facts

Regardless of whether or not these fillings are safe for the body, there are some mercury amalgam facts that can’t be ignored.

1. Mercury is a heavy metal that is extremely toxic to humans, and it makes up about 50% of the common amalgam filling.
2. The amalgam filling has no natural adhesive qualities, so the tooth must be drilled out (removing large amounts of healthy tooth structure) so that the compound can be wedged into place. This in turn has been shown, in some cases, to cause microscopic, hairline cracks in the crystalline structure of the tooth, allowing bacteria, viruses, toxins and other infectious agents to enter the inner structure of the tooth, eventually causing more decay and damage, so that further treatment must be done.
3. Wedging in an amalgam filling has been shown, in many cases, to distort and weaken the tooth, so that eventually cracks in the tooth structure may appear–again allowing infectious agents into the interior of the tooth.
4. The amalgam itself can crack, leak, and fail, and even fall out over time, again due to the lack of adhesive qualities.
5. Amalgams have been shown to discolor and tarnish, over time, causing cosmetic concerns to many patients.
6. Mercury fillings are softer than normal tooth structure, and many times do not hold up well under all the biting and chewing forces that are placed on the tooth; nor do they help distribute the load of these forces equally through the tooth and into the bone.
7. Metal-based fillings and restorations have been shown to produce a battery effect in the mouth, caused by mixing with acidic saliva. Measurable voltages caused by amalgams and other mixed-metals combining with saliva in the mouth have been detected and documented. The moisture in the oral area combining with these metals can many times result in a galvanic, or electricity-producing effect. This has been the cause of people actually picking up radio stations in metal-filled or treated teeth, and while it may sound humorous, it actually indicates a potentially serious problem.

These issues alone may be a good reason for having amalgam fillings removed and replaced with less toxic and stronger materials.

 The Facts

Metal fillings have been described as being like tiny batteries because they are composed of dissimilar metals in an electrolyte a.k.a. saliva. The warm temperature of the mouth, bacteria and food debris provide an even better electrical environment. Perhaps fillings could be better described electrically by calling them capacitators. Capacitators, like the flash portion of a flash camera, build up a charge over a period of time, then discharge much of their stored current in an instant. That is what the RITA meter is attempting to capture.

Natural teeth with no fillings frequently emit a reading of 1 to 4 micro-amps of current just because our bodies are electrical entities. It is important to note that a reading of 4 micro-amps is considered the maximum allowable electrical output.

With metal/ amalgam fillings, mercury is the biggest concern, but copper is close behind in toxicity and amount. The brain operates on 7 to 9 nano-amps and a metal filling provides up to 100 or more micro-amps. That is the difference between touching a 9 volt battery and sticking your finger in a light socket as far as the brain is concerned. Since the upper teeth are less than 2 inches from the brain, it is of concern that adding this much excess electrical activity into the brain has the potential of creating mis-directed impulses to the brain.

With the use of this RITA meter, we have the capability of determining the amount of electrical current emitted by each metal restoration. This device is not intended to diagnose any condition, it is simply an adjunct to aid in gathering information.