MERCURY HYGIENE

Mercury has no known essential functions in the body, but it can interfere with a wide range of enzyme systems which are important. It is known as a highly toxic heavy metal and concentration levels should ideally be zero. Mercury toxicity can disrupt the nervous system, damage brain functions, damage DNA, create allergies and disrupt reproductive functions.
The toxic effects of mercury have been known for some time. “Mad Hatters Disease” was an early example when factory workers making hats used mercury on the leather hat bands. In 1961, the mysterious Minamata disease in Japan was traced to a factory dumping mercury containing waste into Minamata Bay. These were high levels of mercury ingestion and affected virtually everyone in the community.
Today, mercury hygiene has become an environmental concern of serious proportions. Dental amalgam fillings are 50% mercury! For this reason, every dental office in Ontario must have a mercury separator installed. This prevents mercury from old dental amalgams being removed or new ones being placed from going into the municipal sewer. In short, if a dentist brings mercury into their dental office, there are only two ways to get it out of the office. One is by a licensed hazardous waste carrier. The other is in someone’s mouth!
For this reason, we have not placed mercury amalgam fillings in our office for over 20 years. We still must exercise caution, however, because we do remove many old amalgam fillings for various reasons.

OUR AMALGAM REMOVAL PROTOCOL

Many people have had amalgam fillings for years and have suffered no known ill-effects. For this reason, we do not recommend everyone have all of their silver/mercury fillings removed immediately. Our goal is to minimize mercury levels in the body rather than to scare everyone into having all amalgam fillings removed. Our protocol starts with the recommendation that you do not have any more mercury amalgams placed in your mouth. There are excellent mercury-free alternatives.
Second is to determine how much mercury may have accumulated in your body from different sources over the years. To do this, we recommend you do a home urine test, because that is how mercury is excreted from the body. This establishes your baseline or starting levels which you can compare to later.
Third is to have your mercury amalgam fillings replaced. To be most effective, you must have all of them replaced since every one of them is a potential source of mercury. Dentists have differing opinions on amalgam removal procedures. We use a mouthwash (Denta-chelate) to line the tissues of the mouth to minimize potential absorption of mercury which may leak around the rubber dam. We use high volume suction and copious amounts of water. We also try to remove the amalgam in large parts rather than simply pulverizing all of it. While this system is not perfect, it aims to minimize exposure at the removal appointment.
Fourth. The more important aspect is after the potential source of mercury has been eliminated. Now you have to get it out of the tissues, which is harder than getting it out of the teeth. We recommend a gentle chelating or binding agent (Bio-Chelate). You build up to several teaspoons per day of the liquid, which you drink. While there are more aggressive chelators, they have the potential to also leach good minerals out of your system, as well as the mercury. We recommend taking a little more time and doing it with a chelator gentle enough for babies. Bio-Chelate will not leach good minerals out of your system. We do, however, always recommend a comprehensive multivitamin/mineral/antioxidant supplement to support your immune system and your health in general.
Finally, after several months of chelating, you will want to re-test your urine to measure how you are doing and whether you have reached your goal. Without measurements, the whole process is just opinion. With measurements, the process becomes a fact.
Summary. If you are considering having your mercury amalgam fillings replaced, we would recommend you seek a dentist that shares your concern about mercury hygiene. Take it upon yourself, however, to support your system. You may order any of the products and tests mentioned above directly from Osumex. For your convenience, we provide a link directly to them or for more information at the bottom of this article. If you choose to order, we would recommend that you consider one Denta-Chelate mouthwash to minimize absorption. Order three mercury test kits so that you can test once before, once after three months and again after six months. Order three or four bottles of the Bio-Chelate. Each bottle will last 4-6 weeks. Plan on at least 3 months but the average would be 6 months to detox.This will save you shipping costs and will give you enough time to measure results. Excellent instructions are available with the kits or on Osumex’s web site.

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