Amalgam Mercury Fillings FAQ

SMART Amalgam removal

Learn what amalgam fillings are, what they consist of, if they can cause problems and much more information about a very controversial dental filling material.

Other FAQs

Amalgam is a dental filling material.

Dental Amalgam consists of a mixture of metals which include mercury, silver, tin and copper.

The mercury component is of concern.

Mercury is a heavy metal that can be found in the earth’s crust.

Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to humans.

No, amalgam fillings release mercury 24/7.

Amalgam fillings contain at least 50% Mercury which is a known neuro toxin.

That depends on your susceptibility, your genetic disposition, the amount of mercury fillings and the way the fillings are placed.

Yes, with a mercury vapour test.

Yes, if other metals are in your mouth up to 10 times more mercury is released due to galvanic action.

A single dental amalgam filling can release up to 15 micrograms of mercury per day.

Chewing, especially chewing gum, hot and acidic food and drinks, smoking, clenching and grinding your teeth and other metals in your mouth and body.

In an ideal world we would all have zero mercury in our body. However, due to diet, environmental exposure, dental treatment, almost every person has at least trace amounts of mercury in their body.

There are three forms of mercury.

  1. Metallic mercury, also called Elemental mercury = Hg° = liquid mercury
  2. Organic mercury = Hg+ = methylmercury = can pass through placenta
  3. Inorganic mercury = Hg++ = formed when mercury combines with other elements such as sulfur or oxygen to form compounds or salts

Yes, you can. However, this is very rare.

  1. Metallic mercury, also called Elemental mercury = Hg° = liquid mercury
  2. Organic mercury = Hg+ = methylmercury = can pass through placenta
  3. Inorganic mercury = Hg++ = formed when mercury combines with other elements such as sulfur or oxygen to form compounds or salts

Metallic mercury or elemental mercury is the mercury used in amalgam fillings and thermometers.

Organic mercury is the (methyl) mercury found in fish or used in vaccination as a preservative (ethyl mercury) called Thiomersal, in herbicides, fungicides.

Inorganic mercury appears naturally in the environment including volcanoes, forest fires and fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum. It is used for example in cosmetic skin creams.

“Amalgam is a primitive, polluting, 19th century product that began when physicians were sawing off legs. Medicine has since moved forward.”

A genetic test for Apolipoproteins can tell you.

The brain contains proteins that assist in the removal of waste products, including mercury. These proteins are called Apolipoprotein E (APO-E).

  • Yes, there are three different types: APO-E2, APO-E3, and APO-E4.
  • Each of these three types has the ability to carry differing amounts of mercury out of the brain.
  • APO-E2 can transport 2 atoms of mercury out of the brain
  • APO-E3 can transport 1 atom of mercury out of the brain
  • APO-E4 cannot transport mercury out of the brain

People with APO-E4 and APO-E3 are poor excretors of mercury. They have the highest affinity for becoming ill from exposure to heavy metals.

Research has shown that autistic children strongly-tend to have APO-E4 proteins.

Research has also shown that people with APO-E4 / APO-E4 have an 80% chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease.

Mercury affects autoimmune activation, oxidative stress levels, neuroinflammation and can cause neuronal damage and loss of connectivity.

Yes, they can. The genes for mercury resistance are carried on bacterial plasmids which also carry the antibiotic resistance gene.

This question only the dentist themselves can answer; Some dentists obviously are still of the opinion using amalgam fillings is safe for their patients and themselves. Some dentists even have amalgam fillings in their own mouth.

They are cheap, easy to use, strong and long lasting.

Whilst some patients may choose to opt for mercury-free dentistry, patients should not be led to believe that the use of dental amalgam is unsafe.

The BDA has worked hard to avoid a full ban of dental amalgam for the Minimata Treaty of 2013.

  • Mercury is highly toxic to human health, posing a particular threat to the development of the (unborn) child and early in life.
  • The inhalation of mercury vapor can produce harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, lungs and kidneys, and may be fatal.
  • The inorganic salts of mercury are corrosive to the skin, eyes and gastrointestinal tract, and may induce kidney toxicity if ingested.

Following mercury waste pollution in the water, residents near the city of Minamata bay, Japan, developed nerve disorders, resulting in more than 900 deaths during the 1950s and 60s.