Tag Archive for: amalgam removal
Installing or removing amalgam (a.k.a. “silver” or metal) cavity fillings is never, ever recommended while pregnant or breastfeeding. In my book, amalgam should never be installed in the first place, but should certainly be removed as soon as possible. When a developing infant is depending on its mother for nourishment, however, mercury removal is a bad idea.
When amalgam is installed or removed, a spike of mercury is ingested through the mouth, nose, or skin, released into the bloodstream and soft tissues of the body, and then stored in fatty tissue — fatty tissue not only meaning stored body fat, but mostly in the brain and various glands and organs that rely on fat/cholesterol to function properly. This is why you hear primarily about severe nervous or endocrine conditions caused by mercury poisoning, though other symptoms of mercury toxicity run the gamut from random minor complaints to chronic illness. Symptoms may seem completely unrelated, making it difficult to diagnose. But it is definitely there if you’ve been exposed to it, whether or not you “feel” poisoned by it.
With that knowledge, you can imagine how vulnerable a growing baby would be to the mother’s mercury exposure. Conventional dentistry and its literature may tell you otherwise. They say there is little to no significant risk or imminent danger. Many patients testify to having mouths just full of metal or having it installed/removed during pregnancy but deliver and raise kids who are perfectly normal. Let me put it flatly: they do not know what they are talking about. Again, mercury poisoning’s symptoms will not always be obvious. If that stuff is in your body, it will affect you or your offspring. It could be random headaches. It could be infertility or other hormonal discomforts. It could be sluggishness, foggy thinking, or the inability to lose weight. It could be autism or ADHD or another neurological disorder. These problems certainly aren’t getting better in our country, and the number of children developing these problems is steadily increasing, not decreasing! Is it possible this “harmless” amalgam has anything to do with it?
All this to say, causing further disruption to amalgam dental work would be very dangerous for both mom and baby. It is key to have all mercury safely removed from your teeth before conceiving. Don’t wait until pregnancy — planned or not — to care for your health in this important (but too often overlooked) way. Either take care of it now before conceiving, or wait until after weaning when you can have it removed and safely detox without worrying about passing on the poison to your child.
The only ways we’re going to keep having healthy babies and pregnancies is by thinking ahead, thinking critically, staying informed, and applying what we learn.
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
Once you’ve decided to have the mercury in your mouth removed and replaced, some important precautions need to be taken:
- Be aware that even when correctly removed, a mercury filling or crown releases astronomical amounts of mercury vapor and even visible debris. Sometimes, inevitably, there is a rise in mercury levels in the human body. However, now that the source of mercury is gone and the body will continue trying to detoxify itself, the amount will decrease over time.
- It is important not to swallow while getting the amalgam replaced. This is probably the most uncomfortable aspect of the process, but should not be much of a bother considering the great service you’re doing for your health in the long run.
- The time and effort involved in amalgam removal depend on how much mercury is in the mouth. Some may have one small filling; others, several crowns and fillings. It’s too bad that conventional dentists are not hesitant to pump mouths full of the stuff. Getting it back out is so much less convenient than putting in in.
- I like to use the Isolite system for a hassle-free mercury removal procedure. An Isolite mouthpiece provides light, suction, and a tongue barrier all in one. An Isolite helps protect much of the oral cavity (your mouth) from flying mercury debris.
- As an extra precaution, I use a powerful suctioning machine that stands nearby and safely “vacuums” up the mercury debris that may be released while the amalgam is removed. This machine is very important. When mercury is broken into pieces and removed, not only does the patient need to be careful of exposure, but the entire rest of the office does, too. Microscopic traces of mercury could very well go undetected, causing a toxic environment for everyone.
In the next post, I’ll go over what should happen after mercury is removed.
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
(Continued from the previous post:)
Be careful when you have your amalgam filling(s) removed; for several hours the numbness in your face will hinder good judgment on whether your bite feels normal again (when your teeth fit together as you clench down, like normal chewing).
When Dr. Boyajian refills your teeth, a tiny bit of extra filling will stick out above the tooth, and you’ll be able to feel it. He will sand it down to match the rest of your natural tooth’s shape, and check your bite on a piece of film to get rid of any good-bite-blockage. I thought I was good to go, but as “Mrs. Marshmallow Face”, I should have been more careful in determining the status of my bite! Ever so subtly, I can feel just something there that makes my bite go just a bit crooked and it’s not how I remember it. My jaw muscles have also been feeling slightly more tired. Then occasionally I will find myself subconsciously clenching — almost grinding, like my jaw wants to go back to the old way of chewing but can’t find a way. The funny thing is, is that it hardly bothers me at all, but in reality this must be fixed quickly. Even minor adjustments such as this grow into bigger problems. I read and hear about TMJ a lot now, and I’m realizing that this is a way it can start, and I’m thankful I’ve recognized it early! I am going back to the office in a few days to shave off some more of the fillings so my normal bite will return.
If this has ever been your case (maybe you had your fillings removed a long time ago, and you remember not feeling quite normal, but you ignored it and it became the new “normal”), do not wait to have that fixed or at least examined by a dentist! Straying from the natural way your teeth should fit together is terrible for your jaw in the long run. TMJ disorders develop from those “insignificant” bothers, and it’s so important to communicate with your dentist of ANYTHING that wasn’t the way it was before. Granted, it may not always be a negative result, but it is still important to speak up, because the dentist knows a whole lot more about what’s right/wrong in our mouths.
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
(Continued from the previous post:)
So here’s how the procedure went:
I sat in the chair. It was comfy. They started by numbing my mouth up so I wouldn’t feel the drilling. Once it kicked in, shields and suction things were placed in my mouth and around our heads so any mercury vapor wouldn’t escape into our lungs.
They drilled out each filling on the right side of my mouth first, cleaned it, refilled those teeth with the right kind of filling, and cleaned everything once more. They had me rinse, but I had lots of trouble because I could not even feel my lips or tongue, and not dripping all over my bib was quite a task. Plus, I was not allowed to swallow at all the entire time (that was the hardest part).
I sat back down, they did the same thing to the other side of my mouth, and just like that, it was finished! They sanded down the fillings to correct my bite, had me rinse and gargle and wash once more, and I was good to go! Well, except for my mouth still being completely numb. My husband was having a ball teasing me about my “thilly thpeecthhh.”
For the next couple of weeks/months while the mercury level in my body is spiking, I will have to go through a special detox to get rid of all traces; but once that’s over, I will not ever have to worry about it again. And I have all-white teeth again, thank goodness!
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
Today we have a guest post.
Hello, Readers! I am Dr. Boyajian’s daughter-in-law, and this last weekend I had my teeth worked on in his office for the first time (I live out of town). Wow! The entire visit went by quickly and smoothly, and the results are great.
When I was younger, I was not as thorough as I should have been when it came to brushing and flossing regularly. My diet had never been ideal — mostly grain-based with not enough nourishing fats and animal protein. I thus developed a total of six cavities, three on each side of my mouth.
My old family dentist was very nice and I never had a bad experience in his office, but the more I learned about amalgam and TMJ while reading this blog, the more I was aware that this other dentist was not practicing dentistry good for the body. He filled up my cavities with amalgam, the “silver” (ahem, MERCURY) fillings and I had never given them a second thought until now… well, except for the occasional glance in the mirror and not really finding metal in my teeth very attractive.
I was able to attend most of the IAOMT seminars with Dr. Boyajian and my eyes were opened to the schemes behind pro-mercury dentistry and things the AMA/FDA wants to hide from us for financial reasons. Immediately afterwards, we decided to remove my fillings because of their extremely hazardous effects on my health (and Dr. Boyajian’s future grandchildren’s health!).
I have not noticed, thankfully, any major issues with toxicity since their removal. Want to hear how it went? Check out the next post!
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
One quick thing I learned at the IAOMT meeting was the difference between mercury-free and mercury-safe dentistry. This is important for me to specify. Mercury-free dentistry is a good thing, but it only implies that materials and equipment a dentist is using don’t contain mercury.
What if someone already has amalgam (silver) fillings, bringing them into the office to be removed? Removal of amalgam fillings causes microscopic particles of mercury to be released in the air, and very careful measures must be taken so that inhalation or skin exposure is prevented. This is definitely the case in my office and with my staff; the term just needed specification. Mercury is extremely toxic and destructive to our health. Once it’s in your body, it’s very difficult to detoxify and remove all traces.
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
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Dental Wellness Arts
6206 West 87th Street
Westchester, CA 90045
Office: (310) 670-6944
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