Found this on The Internets and thought it’d be appropriate to share some dental humor. (I do not claim ownership of the photo.) But here’s your friendly holistic dentist PSA: take mercury seriously!
Dr. Boyajian, Los Angeles
Tag Archive for: mercury poisoning
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
Happy New Year, everybody!
No matter what your dental hygienic history is, there is always room to improve upon how you care for your teeth and overall health. If you’re setting any goals for this year, why not add a manageable habit to your daily dental care? Not that I intend to sound cliche, but since getting a fresh start is the prevailing attitude this week, I’m going to take advantage of it.
Incorporate these small habits that yield big improvements:
- Brush at least twice a day — once in the morning and once before bed (after all food and beverages).
- Floss at least once a day, preferably at the end of the day before you go to sleep
- Take a few minutes to irrigate if you have an irrigator. Irrigation staves off the vast majority of disease and infection and promotes fast healing. Irrigation keeps your gums healthy, wards off canker sores, and provides relief from more painful infections like pericoronitis.
- Cut out refined sugar, flour, and processed foods from your diet, and eat fresh foods and green things. A lack of oral cleanliness is not the only cause of oral disease; your diet, exposure to and storage of toxins, hereditary susceptibilities, and poor lifestyle habits all contribute to disease.
You might even set goals that are a little more major in that they require more time and money. The long-term investment pays off greatly, however. Why not:
- Invest in a better toothbrush (such as a Rotadent, the best you’ll ever find)*
- Invest in an irrigator*
- Replace the chemicals in your bathroom cabinet — mouthwash, commercial toothpaste, commercial ointments, gum or breath fresheners, etc. — with natural options or alternatives*. Also, examine the cause behind the need for these items. Have bad breath all the time? Get checked out!
- Save up for and schedule that surgery you’ve been putting off. I’ve been doing many more implants lately, so if you need them, call us.
- Have your amalgam dental work replaced. Mercury is poisonous and it slowly leaks into your body’s tissues for as long as it is bonded to your teeth. However, if you are pregnant or nursing, it would be best to delay the process until you’re done. If you are trying to get pregnant, get the amalgam replaced immediately and let your body detox before you continue trying to conceive. I will write more about that soon. For now, I use the safest protocols for mercury removal, and getting that replaced, in my opinion, should certainly be done as soon as possible.
- Consult a nutritionist and find out how you can build the health of your teeth back up through proper nutrition. By the way, if your nutritionist thinks you can’t help your teeth by changing what you eat, find a different nutritionist!
So how are you going to take better care of your teeth this year?
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
*You can ask me about the hygienic and natural dental care products I supply.
Since it’s likely that the mercury levels in your body will quickly spike as your amalgam fillings are removed, you should consider paying special attention to your health (nutrition and diet, in particular) in order to supply your body with the best ammo for serious detoxing. I have the ability to refer you to nutritionists and health specialists. Pregnant/nursing mothers should not get the procedure done until they are neither pregnant (or trying to be) nor nursing. Those with known sensitivities to mercury should consult a doctor knowledgeable about mercury and its effects on the human body before attempting the removal.
Take special care of your diet before and after the procedure to help your tissues detox. Also pay attention to your physical health and alert your physician and/or dentist about anything negatively out of the ordinary.
As you can see, this is serious stuff! Mercury poisoning is no frivolous matter. Here are a few helpful links with content directed towards patients about the whys and wherefores of mercury and removing it.
http://iaomt.org/patients/index.asp
http://dentalwellness4u.com/breaking/breaking.html
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