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Multiple Sclerosis Linked To Mercury Dental Fillings (Silver Amalgam)

by thunderbird
37 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
    • |
Link between Dental Mercury Fillings and Multiple Sclerosis Examined in Nationally Televised Interview - MarketWatch

I hate to say it but Canada and the United States are backwards and plain gutless in some ways. Canadian dentists I talk to, including a professor of dentistry, emphatically deny that mercury-vapor-emitting-fillings pose any danger. Initially I believed them, relieved that I didn't need to be concerned about the silver fillings in my mouth, but facts have an annoying way of leaking through the dams of denial.

If so-called "Silver" fillings are so harmless, why are they banned in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark?

FDA claims Mercury fillings are harmless yet also says, "Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses. When amalgam fillings are placed in teeth or removed from teeth, they release mercury vapor. Mercury vapor is also released during chewing." Does that sound benign and harmless to you?

Here's something to consider: "Michael Faraday, a well-known physicist, developed schizophrenia by breathing mercury vapors"
Dental Mercury Amalgam Poisoning
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by thunderbird View Post

    facts have an annoying way of leaking through the dams of denial.
    Maybe so, but still, some of your "information" above is actually "mistakes", not "facts".

    Originally Posted by thunderbird View Post

    If so-called "Silver" fillings are so harmless, why are they banned in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark?
    Because of environmental concerns relating to the transport and storage of the mercury, not because of anything to do with alleged health-risks to the recipients of amalgam fillings.

    Since you ask.

    Originally Posted by thunderbird View Post

    "Michael Faraday, a well-known physicist, developed schizophrenia by breathing mercury vapors"
    He may have developed schizophrenia after breathing mercury vapors, but that's not at all the same thing as developing it by breathing mercury vapors, is it?! One mistakenly assumes and attributes causation, and the other doesn't.

    People have sometimes been known to collapse and die from a brain hemorrhage after shopping in Marks And Spencer, but that doesn't prove that Marks And Spencer is inducing brain hemorrhages, does it?

    Don't get me wrong: I'm opposed to mercury in amalgam fillings. I'm on your side.

    But the illogical and prejudiced way you're arguing your case actually makes me embarrassed to be on the same side as you, because some of your arguments above don't stand up to examination, even for a second. And by the way, multiple sclerosis is an auto-immune disease: you're going to have great difficulty linking that to mercury vapors! If we want to use scientific or logical argument to persuade people that mercury in amalgam fillings is a bad thing, it's better to stick to the arguments we can actually win on the basis of their having some scientific or logical merit. :p
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    • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      <snip>

      But the illogical and prejudiced way you're arguing your case actually makes me embarrassed to be on the same side as you, <snip>
      I wasn't really presenting an argument to Nature magazine. Just quoting the FDA and relaying news, subjective and anecdotal sure. If we didn't guide our lives by subjectivity and anecdotal evidence, we'd essentially be paralyzed and helpless.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Actually, Mercury IS toxic! FACT! It has been known for a VERY VERY VERY long time. I believe over a CENTURY! The correlation was seen before that. "Mad as a hatter" PREDATES "alice in wonderland" and was due to the use of mercury in treating felt for hats.

    WOW, I found a nice section from the US National Institute of Health on the subject. This is the US government, for those that don't know:

    Mercury: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

    Read CAREFULLY! It ALSO mentions FLOURESCENT bulbs!

    NOW, as to the dental filings? They have been known to be unstable for a LONG time! The AMA and ADA have STRICT guidelines as to how to dispose of it. The ADA has TWO versions! One for patients, and one for dentists! WOW! Don't believe? Go to thier site!

    Amalgam Waste, Best Management - American Dental Association - ADA.org

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

      Actually, Mercury IS toxic! FACT! It has been known for a VERY VERY VERY long time. I believe over a CENTURY!
      Oh, for sure ... there's no doubt about that.

      That's why I'm on T'bird's side on this issue, and why I think it's such an important argument to be able to win with science and logic, and not one to discredit with flawed arguments which don't actually stand up to examination at all. When you're right about something, that's the time to take care to use correct, valid evidence (especially when there's no shortage of it!), and not something flawed, mistaken and illogical, which can so easily be invalidated and refuted - because that just makes it looks like you're in the wrong when you're not - and that helps nobody: it just discredits a good cause!
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  • Profile picture of the author LarryC
    I sure wouldn't assume they are harmless. Very often, it takes conventional scientists and the FDA a long time to catch up to supposedly alternative views on these topics (if they ever do). Are you willing to trust your health with institutions that have a vested interest in suppressing evidence?

    For example, they are finally coming around about fluoride in water supplies. Not long ago, it was considered paranoid to worry about fluoride. Now mainstream health reports are admitting that it can be harmful in large quantities, especially to children.

    Dr. Mercola has a lot of useful information on health and he is very much against amalgam fillings.

    Mercury Dental Fillings Are a "Biochemical Train Wreck"
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    I have not known any dentists that uses Mercury fillings for at least 20-30 years.Do they still use that here in the states?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      I have not known any dentists that uses Mercury fillings for at least 20-30 years.
      I may have this all wrong, but I don't think they've been used in Europe during my lifetime. Certainly not by any dentists I've ever been to. But there are still "issues" there for some people, with older ones, deciding whether or not to have them replaced with more modern composite fillings. And arguments on both sides about the risks/benefits of doing that. One thing's for sure: dentists are making millions out of replacing them.
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        I may have this all wrong, but I don't think they've been used in Europe during my lifetime. Certainly not by any dentists I've ever been to. But there are still "issues" there for some people, with older ones, deciding whether or not to have them replaced with more modern composite fillings. And arguments on both sides about the risks/benefits of doing that. One thing's for sure: dentists are making millions out of replacing them.
        It's LITERALLY like someone put a BOMB in your mouth! On the one hand, you WANT it REMOVED! On the other hand, any attemt to do so can cause the reaction you were trying t avert.

        Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      I have not known any dentists that uses Mercury fillings for at least 20-30 years.Do they still use that here in the states?
      Less than adecade ago I know they did. Many insurance companies INSISTED on amalgam if it was the back teeth. WHY? You couldn't see it, and it was cheaper! If you wanted anything else, you had to pay the difference.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    That part I can understand. Growing up I had silver fillings,and if I was a good patient the dentist would send me hole with a few drops in a bottle. I know that doesn't happen anymore.
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    • Profile picture of the author waterotter
      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      That part I can understand. Growing up I had silver fillings,and if I was a good patient the dentist would send me home with a few drops in a bottle. I know that doesn't happen anymore.
      GEE, I only ever got a lollipop:p

      My Mother and I also had a deal - if I was well-behaved, I'd get to go shopping for a new pair of shoes
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    BTW about what I have been saying about poor medical care? About a week ago I heard a cousin of mine was put in a COMA because of an illness caused by that. She died a couple days ago.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author domainarama
    The article which OP posted is a press release, not a study It is a press release about a single case. Really, that's not very convincing.

    There are approximately 30 forms of MS. It is not a single unitary disease. About 80% of cases are women (onset usually in their 20s and 30s). It is found overwhelming in a moderate temperature band above and below the Equator (ie, not so often in the tropics and far north or south of the planet). Do women get 80% of amalgam dental fillings? Do people in the tropics and far north and south not get amalgam fillings? If MS appears so often in peoples' 20s and 30s why does it not begin to appear more frequently as people age and get more fillings?

    Maybe. But this article leaves out many issues.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by domainarama View Post

      The article which OP posted is a press release, not a study It is a press release about a single case. Really, that's not very convincing.

      There are approximately 30 forms of MS. It is not a single unitary disease. About 80% of cases are women (onset usually in their 20s and 30s). It is found overwhelming in a moderate temperature band above and below the Equator (ie, not so often in the tropics and far north or south of the planet). Do women get 80% of amalgam dental fillings? Do people in the tropics and far north and south not get amalgam fillings? If MS appears so often in peoples' 20s and 30s why does it not begin to appear more frequently as people age and get more fillings?

      Maybe. But this article leaves out many issues.
      That's a specious argument. NOBODY claims AMALGAM causes any problems! They claim MERCURY does....

      AMALGAM->MERCURY
      MERCURY is NOT necessarily AMALGAM!

      But it is more complicated than THAT!

      MERCURY->NERVE PROBLEMS
      Nerve problems are NOT always due to mercury.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    This has been an interesting thread.

    My parents each had mercury/silver amalgam fillings, and my parents each lived to be 88 years of age.

    The same type of fillings went into my teeth when I was a child. Apparently, the drilling and filling weaken the teeth, and all but 2 teeth with the filling eventually cracked. Today those are all crowned.

    I had forgotten about the two amalgamed (if that is a verb - hmm, now it is.) teeth. So far, no ill issues from it, but my wife and friends think I'm mad as a hatter.

    :-Don
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    • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
      Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

      This has been an interesting thread.

      My parents each had mercury/silver amalgam fillings, and my parents each lived to be 88 years of age.

      The same type of fillings went into my teeth when I was a child. Apparently, the drilling and filling weaken the teeth, and all but 2 teeth with the filling eventually cracked. Today those are all crowned.

      I had forgotten about the two amalgamed (if that is a verb - hmm, now it is.) teeth. So far, no ill issues from it, but my wife and friends think I'm mad as a hatter.

      :-Don
      My grandfather smoked and drank and was a playboy for most of his life until he married a young woman (not yet 20), more than 40 years younger than himself. He also had silver fillings. He was always healthy. So what.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

      This has been an interesting thread.

      My parents each had mercury/silver amalgam fillings, and my parents each lived to be 88 years of age.

      The same type of fillings went into my teeth when I was a child. Apparently, the drilling and filling weaken the teeth, and all but 2 teeth with the filling eventually cracked. Today those are all crowned.

      I had forgotten about the two amalgamed (if that is a verb - hmm, now it is.) teeth. So far, no ill issues from it, but my wife and friends think I'm mad as a hatter.

      :-Don
      Yeah, if it were REAL obvious 100% of the time people would have been screaming LONG ago. It likely won't cause you to die sooner, but COULD lead to nerve or mental problems. and that would depend on how much you have, and how much leaches into your system. FISH likely won't kill you EITHER, but they talk about lowering exposure especially if you are young or pregnant, to limit mercury.

      Frankly, I think such things should be considered DANGEROUS until proven safe!

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
        Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

        Yeah, if it were REAL obvious 100% of the time people would have been screaming LONG ago. It likely won't cause you to die sooner, but COULD lead to nerve or mental problems. and that would depend on how much you have, and how much leaches into your system. FISH likely won't kill you EITHER, but they talk about lowering exposure especially if you are young or pregnant, to limit mercury.

        Frankly, I think such things should be considered DANGEROUS until proven safe!

        Steve
        Oh yes. My mother developed dementia, but my father didn't. They each had fillings. I don't doubt amalgam fillings are dangerous, and other materials are safer.

        The two amalgam fillings I have are on lower wisdom teeth. The uppers were removed 45years ago. I guess the dentist thought I was becoming too wise.

        I am not gong to run out and get these two teeth refilled. The amalgam fillings have made them too weak, and refilling could cause them to crack.

        Mercury in fish is a concern. Apparently smaller fish contain less mercury than do large fish. And various areas of the ocean have more mercury than others. Sardines are safer than tuna. The only tuna we buy come from either Demnark or Sweden.

        :-Don
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Inside the human body, mercury and silver are both heavy metal toxins, and for biochemically the same reasons, too.

          But strangely, some people prefer to describe silver as a "trace element" instead, in spite of all the damage and toxicity it's been proven, for so many decades, to cause.

          That's all arisen because of the pernicious and pervasive influences of marketing on the gullible, of course, but since this is the Off Topic department, I'd better say no more about that.
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          • Profile picture of the author seasoned
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            Inside the human body, mercury and silver are both heavy metal toxins, and for biochemically the same reasons, too.

            But strangely, some people prefer to describe silver as a "trace element" instead, in spite of all the damage and toxicity it's been proven, for so many decades, to cause.

            That's all arisen because of the pernicious and pervasive influences of marketing on the gullible, of course, but since this is the Off Topic department, I'd better say no more about that.
            WOW! I have heard of people taking silver until they were blue in the face ********LITERALLY********* and still relatively well. I can't imagine such coloring of the skin being good though, so I will stay far enough away. Still, it doesn't seem NEAR as dangerous as mercury.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argyria

            Steve
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            • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
              Banned
              Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

              Still, it doesn't seem NEAR as dangerous as mercury.
              No, I know ... it doesn't, to most people.

              That's mostly because we're far more used to hearing of "mercury" in only negative contexts as a toxin, but we instinctively think of "silver" very differently because of its "precious metal" connotations.

              These things depend on the quantities ingested, of course.

              The "silver products" that people take, believing that silver's antibacterial properties (only ever demonstrated in vitro - they mysteriously disappear whenever tested in vivo!!) contain only the tiniest amounts, these days. The more dangerously toxic ones have long ago been withdrawn from sale in most Western countries. And unlike the withdrawal from use of amalgam fillings in the Scandinavian countries referred to in the OP, in the case of silver sprays/products, that was because of "patient toxicity".
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              • Profile picture of the author seasoned
                Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

                No, I know ... it doesn't, to most people.

                That's mostly because we're far more used to hearing of "mercury" in only negative contexts as a toxin, but we instinctively think of "silver" very differently because of its "precious metal" connotations.

                These things depend on the quantities ingested, of course.

                The "silver products" that people take, believing that silver's antibacterial properties (only ever demonstrated in vitro - they mysteriously disappear whenever tested in vivo!!) contain only the tiniest amounts, these days. The more dangerously toxic ones have long ago been withdrawn from sale in most Western countries. And unlike the withdrawal from use of amalgam fillings in the Scandinavian countries referred to in the OP, in the case of silver sprays/products, that was because of "patient toxicity".
                WOW! One of my favorite anecdotes about STUPIDITY IN COOKING is a product that was ALL OVER when I was a kid. I haven't seen it in a while, but they may still be sold. They are called silver nonpariels. anyway, people would eat them up, LITERALLY! HEY, they looked nice, tasted good, were OBVIOUSLY made to be EDIBLE. I mean they were sprinkled LIBERALLY on wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cupcakes, etc....

                Well, one day, older and more curious, and knowing a bit about silver, I read a package of silver nonpariels at a store. And YEAH, they have REAL silver! HEY, even GOLD is cheap on a square meter basis. I mean it could take several square meters to have an ounce of gold, and silver costs far less. It had a WARNING that they were NOT to be eaten! Is was in small print on the side, away from parts people would likely read, and these had a HISTORY(DECADES) of being used for such decoration etc.... But there it was!

                Such warnings DON'T get transferred to the final product generally. Could you imagine a warning on cupcakes? "Please scrape of silver balls before eating"!

                BUT, as I said, the problems I have heard of were relatively mild. I don't think I EVER heard of a kid having such problems. Of course MOST cupcakes, even then, didn't have the SILVER decorations. So it was unlikely that even one that LOVED cupcakes would get enough of the silver.

                Steve
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                • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
                  Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

                  WOW! One of my favorite anecdotes about STUPIDITY IN COOKING is a product that was ALL OVER when I was a kid. I haven't seen it in a while, but they may still be sold. They are called silver nonpariels. anyway, people would eat them up, LITERALLY! HEY, they looked nice, tasted good, were OBVIOUSLY made to be EDIBLE. I mean they were sprinkled LIBERALLY on wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cupcakes, etc.... <snip>
                  I'm pretty sure I've eaten those before. Have had pretty cakes and cupcakes in my time. It is funny that people assume because they haven't been outright killed by something and mealy-mouthed spineless bought-and-sold authorities officially deem it ok, that it safe. Naive.
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                  • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
                    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

                    "Safe" is relative. 100% safety is living in a hermetically sealed environment, exercising on a treadmill and eating 95% fruits (pooping 5 times a day).

                    I sure as hell don't want to live like that. The increased risk of using amalgam fillings is pretty tiny. There are far many more ways to reduce risk and increase safety than going out of your way to avoid amalgam fillings.
                    Why you...hey, you discuss ways of bypassing Google, so I forgive you.
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        • Profile picture of the author seasoned
          Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

          Mercury in fish is a concern. Apparently smaller fish contain less mercury than do large fish. And various areas of the ocean have more mercury than others. Sardines are safer than tuna. The only tuna we buy come from either Demnark or Sweden.

          :-Don
          Well, to be fair larger fish have more tissue that can take in mercury and mercury is ADDITIVE. That means there are small parts of mercury around and as fish swim in the area they pick up more and more of it. But it is rather slow for each fish. Bigger fish tend to eat smaller ones. A bigger fish eats 50 little ones and BAM it picks up all the mercury those smaller fish picked up their whole lives in one INSTANT. It makes sense that they would have more mercury. It also would come from a larger area.

          Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    <snip>
    The jury is still out on the dangers of these fillings. Show me just one credible study. Nothing conclusive has been found.

    Have you been actively looking for anything conclusive? It is conclusive that mercury is highly toxic. How the mercury emitted from silver fillings may affect the body is not known. This from the FDA, de facto mouthpiece for corporate-welfare recipients (vs consumer interests):

    "When amalgam fillings are placed in teeth or removed from teeth, they release mercury vapor. Mercury vapor is also released during chewing."

    One may opt to have mercury placed in one's teeth, injected into their child's body,or a pregnant woman may choose to have mercury injected into her body. I choose differently, and my wife refused to get thimerosal-containing (mercury) swine flu vaccine when she was pregnant even after doctors and nurses tried to convince her to do so with reassurances that it's harmless. If you trust authority, that's your choice. By default I am skeptical of everything authority says:

    What’s in your H1N1 flu vaccine?

    The Public Health Agency of Canada says on its Web site that thimerosal is safe and that the amount in the H1N1 vaccine is below Health Canada’s daily safety limit set for mercury. “There’s significantly less mercury in the vaccine than you would find in a can of tuna fish,” the site states.

    In fact, the amount of mercury in the nonadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine does actually exceed the daily safety level for pregnant women. Health Canada has established the safe dietary level of mercury for pregnant women at 0.2 micrograms (millionths of a gram) per kilo of body weight. The nonadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine contains 25 micrograms of mercury.

    Simple math tells us an average Canadian pregnant woman—weighing 80 kilograms at term—gets about 56 percent more than the daily safe level of mercury when given a dose of the nonadjuvanted vaccine. By the EPA’s stricter standards, that same dose is actually triple its daily safe level.

    What’s more, [University of British Columbia neuroscientist] Shaw notes, those daily safety levels were set for consumption of mercury in food, not for injection directly into the body. Injecting a neurotoxin like mercury has much more impact than eating it, he said.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    Mercury fillings are used as standard in the UK. If you want ceramic composite fillings, you only get them on the NHS if they are for the teeth that show when you smile.

    If you want them for your molars, you gotta pay private rates.
    Yeah, that is at least how it WAS for the US also.

    Just because some Scandinavian countries have banned them doesn't mean anything. It certainly is not enough evidence that "they are right" and "amalgam fillings are dangerous".
    AMALGAM is NOT stable! Even dentists acknowledge that when pressed. so Amalgam IS dangerous!

    Frankly, a few amalgam fillings are probably nothing to worry about. They are actually better lasting than ceramic ones when placed over a large area, such as the bigger teeth at the back of the mouth.
    Well, I have plastic fillings, and a ceramic cap. BOTH seem to hold up FINE. The ceramic cap seems like, and looks like, a real tooth.

    The jury is still out on the dangers of these fillings. Show me just one credible study. Nothing conclusive has been found.
    GEE, we don't have studies about particular americium tablets, or nuclear fuel tablets either, but I choose to believe all three are dangerous. BTW I don't believe Americium was discovered yet, but lower level elements were known and considered safe. There was even a uranium tonic for "health and vigor". Eventually, the FDA was created to put a stop to such things because they were EVENTUALLY, found to be potentially DEADLY!

    Yes they contain mercury. So what. Water contains hydrogen atoms. Does that mean water is flammable and therefore "dangerous"? Of course not. That's a ridiculous extrapolation.
    You know as well as I that atoms aren't really what matters, it is molecules and their bonds. The hydrogen bonds in water are VERY tight. The only thing that can break them is apparently an electric current.

    So is the idea that because amalgam contains mercury that your health must therefore be at risk. Not necessarily so. Let's see the proof first before jumping to conclusions.
    They admit the bond is not that great.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
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    • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
      Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill View Post

      Well yeah. I'm past being annoyed at that. Hell, it doesn't even matter if the science is straight. Some dim-witted reporter will spin it the way her boss tells her to.
      The few times I've ever been interviewed by a reporter for anything, they reported it incorrectly with wrong information and misrepresentation of what I said. Whenever I happen to know anything about anything and see coverage of it on the news (or in movies) it is wrong almost every time. Attempts to correct anything in the news (even news that had something to do with me) have always been futile in my experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author domainarama
    "That's all arisen because of the pernicious and pervasive influences of marketing on the gullible"

    That's a rather odd thing for a marketer to say on a discussion board devoted to marketing.

    Does anyone in this discussion have credentials as a scientist? Does anyone here have credentials as a student of mercury and its biology? Or is everyone involved in this discussion a MARKETER who happens to have a few "instant expert" things to say about something they know only a little about?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by domainarama View Post

      Does anyone in this discussion have credentials as a scientist?
      I don't know. I have a degree in a related subject and this issue is one of the exact things I'm currently studying and researching as part of my PhD, but I don't honestly claim either of those as "credentials as a scientist", in this context (especially since I'm doing the doctoral research so part-time and slowly that at this rate I may never finish it at all!).

      I know there are a couple of MD's who post in this part of the forum, but I don't see posts from either of them in this thread. (I suspect they both prefer to stay out of such conversations, because it would doubtless be pretty tiresome for them to try to correct some of the scientific misinformation and misunderstandings typically on display.)

      Originally Posted by domainarama View Post

      That's a rather odd thing for a marketer to say on a discussion board devoted to marketing.
      Exactly so.

      Hence the tongue-in-cheek smileys following the italicizing of the word "marketing" in my post! Thank you, though - I'm happy to see that I made the irony clear enough for it not to have been wasted on you!
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by domainarama View Post

      Does anyone in this discussion have credentials as a scientist? Does anyone here have credentials as a student of mercury and its biology? Or is everyone involved in this discussion a MARKETER who happens to have a few "instant expert" things to say about something they know only a little about?
      I may not be a scientist, but I have heard enough about related things, and have heard enough doctors talk. Some things are just POISONOUS! And SURE there is the question about bonding, but correlations HAVE been found between the amount of amalgam and mercury. And the official and unofficial statements on removal are that it may release more mercury. And they DO seem awfully concerned about recycling, etc... Even the idea about incineration. Want to see something that will make you ANGRY?

      http://www.dmg-america.com/files/pro...Alloy_MSDS.pdf

      I wish I could copy it, but it looks like it is graphic and thus not selectible. It DOES list a lot of symptoms. It may EVEN be the reason I have to wear glasses! Come to think of it, I started because of a weird situation that came out of the blue and THAT could be from mercury. I mean it IS a main symptom. But THIS even speaks of "clouding of the eyes". THAT I did NOT know! It SPECIFICALLY says, BTW, that THAT usually takes more than 5 YEARS! One possible symptom is kidney damage. Don't worry though. Listed symptoms only range from a cough to death. OBVIOUSLY death is from a "high concentration". Well, it may be high for THIS, and especially for the environment, but 1.2mg per cubic meter is NOT all that high on an absolute scale considering that there may be large amounts of mercury.

      A lot of the symptoms require even ****LOW**** exposure, and are SPECIFICALLY targeted at areas a dentist would work on. Talk about irony! You go to a place to get your teeth worked on and down the road have a rash of problems you ALSO go to them to get worked on! BTW want to be fair! This is a 25 year old company providing restorative supplies to dentists! Formerly called Zenith Dental. 47 thousand entries in google, etc... Look at sites like: Zenith Dental to rebrand as DMG America - DentistryIQ And it seems that they are respected, and even the ADS are appropriate for dentistry.

      I don't know how much things like the toxicity of mercury may be taught to medical students versus others anyway. It seems to me that unless a doctor is HONEST, curious, and thoughtful, they may not know all that much more about it than the average person that has picked up the information.

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author domainarama
    seasoned (post #16) wrote "That's a specious argument. NOBODY claims AMALGAM causes any problems! They claim MERCURY does....

    AMALGAM->MERCURY
    MERCURY is NOT necessarily AMALGAM!"

    Me: Oh yes it is....50% of amalgam is mercury (if the following quote is correct)

    From Wikipedia: "In dentistry, amalgam is an alloy of mercury with various metals used for dental fillings. It commonly consists of mercury (50%), silver (~22-32% ), tin (~14%), copper (~8%), and other trace metals.[1][2] In the 1800s, amalgam became the dental restorative material of choice due to its low cost, ease of application, strength, and durability.[citation needed]"

    The DMG-America link?????? I didn't find much there, other than advertisement for products. Is there something specific you want to discuss within the link?

    What percentage of the (US, European, Asian) population has amalgam fillings? If amalgam is 50% mercury and if mercury is a poison, and if let's say 80% of the US population has amalgam fillings which contain poison how come the life expectancy of people in the US keeps going up?
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by domainarama View Post

      seasoned (post #16) wrote "That's a specious argument. NOBODY claims AMALGAM causes any problems! They claim MERCURY does....

      AMALGAM->MERCURY
      MERCURY is NOT necessarily AMALGAM!"

      Me: Oh yes it is....50% of amalgam is mercury (if the following quote is correct)

      From Wikipedia: "In dentistry, amalgam is an alloy of mercury with various metals used for dental fillings. It commonly consists of mercury (50%), silver (~22-32% ), tin (~14%), copper (~8%), and other trace metals.[1][2] In the 1800s, amalgam became the dental restorative material of choice due to its low cost, ease of application, strength, and durability.[citation needed]"
      Doesn't change what I said! I thought it was clear! Since the MERCURY causes problems, you will see mercury related problems where mercury is even if there is NO amalgam around! I ALSO said that doesn't necessarily mean that a given ailment is mercury related.

      The DMG-America link?????? I didn't find much there, other than advertisement for products. Is there something specific you want to discuss within the link?
      Sorry, I USUALLY check the link from this forum, but failed to do so. It ERRONEOUSLY believed that the [ was the end of the link. It WASN'T! Had you copied the link, it would have worked. I fixed it.

      What percentage of the (US, European, Asian) population has amalgam fillings? If amalgam is 50% mercury and if mercury is a poison, and if let's say 80% of the US population has amalgam fillings which contain poison how come the life expectancy of people in the US keeps going up?
      MOST poisons DO NOT KILL! And MOST poisons may not have immediate or obvious effects.

      The FACT is that 100% of all humans have died to some degree! As you read that statement, part of you DIED! We call it sickness or aging, but it happens ALL THE TIME! A LOT of sicknesses are called "signs of old age". My mother got ALZHEIMERS! Sign of old age? OK, how come Jack la lane, lived to be 10 years, and C.Everett Coop is about 20 years OLDER than she was, and they don't seem so infirmed? That is just an EXAMPLE, but who knows what "signs of old age" are caused by poisons.

      Not the definition of poison:
      1. A substance that causes injury, illness, or death, especially by chemical means.
      2. Something destructive or fatal.
      3. Chemistry & Physics A substance that inhibits another substance or a reaction: a catalyst poison.
      tr.v. poi·soned, poi·son·ing, poi·sons
      1. To kill or harm with poison.
      INJURY? ILLNESS? HARM? DESTRUCTIVE?

      BIG words and quite redundant if the meaning is simply to KILL! NOPE, there are LOTS of poisons out there, and many would require a very high dose to kill in the meaning you imply.

      Steve
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