Chronically sick due to heavy metals – amalgams as dental
filling material and their contribution to chronic
diseases.
For many years there has been an ongoing controversial discussion about amalgams as
dental filling material. Despite the ostensible advantages providing the population with
a long lasting and easy to handle, almost undemanding teeth restoration material which
at the same time shows an exalted breaking resistance and compression strength on a
high cost-effeciancy level we still need to see the extensive documented list of health
hazards connected with amalgams, that you may find in reports on the internet and
literature. There seems to be a major difficulty in confining subjective ailments and
objective disease patterns, which leads to all kind of different beliefs and arguments
among the experts whether amalgam should still be considered in dentistry. There is no
conclusive answer except that the market of dental filling materials offers a vast variety
of much more credible and unequivocally better substances in a sense of outmatching
biocompatibility like high content gold alloys, ceramics and certain plastic respectively
cement materials, regarding the aspect of temporarily or definite solutions.
Looking at amalgams we deal with a mixture/alloy of approx. 50% liquid mercury (Hg)
and 50% powder made from zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), copper (Cu), silver (Ag) and traces of
other heavy metals like palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), antimony (Sb) etc. The during
early years used so called gamma-2-amalgams did also consist of 50% mercury but
included a higher copper fraction causing the material to be prone to corrosion with less
abrasiveness. This is why critics think that there could be a higher mercury release in
comparison to the from most dental associations around the world favoured nongamma-2 respectively gamma-2-free-amalgams, which contain 51.5% mercury, a
minimum of 20% silver, a maximum of 16% tin and a maximum of 15% copper with a
maximum of 1% zinc.
Boyd Haley (Boyd E. Haley PhD * 22.Sept 1940 Greensburg, Indiana; professor of the
University of Kentucky Lexington and chair of the chemistry department since 1996)
and his team have shown in 2007 that 1 cm2 of amalgamsurface releases approx. 15yg
of mercury at average during 24 h without mechanical stress, which we naturally find
within the oral cavity. Mercury acts as a cellpoison binding to bodyprotein. This is why
mercury as a soluble compound should be considered as toxic. At roomtemperature
mercury exists as a liquid and gradually evapors to a gaseous condition. These mercury
vapors reach mucous membranes within the lungs and thus enter the body being in a
later stage stocked within the central nervous system and kidneys, where they can
unfold their toxic impact.
The saliva of people with amalgams contains 3 times higher values of methylmercury, a
high toxic, organic compound of mercury, than people with no amalgam fillings.
Intoxification with methylmercury has been shown in the surrounding of the city of
Minamata on the Japanese coast, when in the mid 50ies local authorities found out about
an environmental catastrophy reaching world wide attention many years after due to
uncontrolled sewage water dumping of a chemical corporation named Chissso. Even
first denying that there might be assumingly any relation to a high percentage of people
living in this area suffering out of a sudden from extreme tiredness, exhaustion, headand bodyaches, partial palsy, psychosis and even coma in later stages, the company had
to admit after governmental investigation that the ocean dumping of
methylmercuryiodide lead to a dramatic accumulation of methylmercury within the sea
algae and fish, consumed preferably by the population living on the sea shores.
According to present day evaluation 17.000 people had been damaged by
methylmercury in a more or less extensive way; but only 2265 people by the year 2000
had been acknowledged officially to be victims of Minamata-disease meanwhile more
than 3000 people have died in the meantime.
The effects of an even more complex organic compound of mercury the
dimethylmercury had been demonstrated in the tragic death of Karen Wetterhahn
(*16.10.1948; + 08.06.1997), who used to work as professor for chemistry at the
Dartmouth College in Hanover (New Hampshire) dealing with toxicity of metals.
Meanwhile she was testing the pathogenic impact of toxic metals on cells she sustained a
work injury whilst dimethylmercury driped within seconds on her protecting latexglove diffusing through and being resorbed by her skin. 10 months later she was
complaining about severe dizziness and headache. The mercury concentration of her
blood accounted for more than 80times of the toxic threshold value. Despite of a
chelation therapy she fell into coma and died on an acute mercury intoxification.
Boyd Haley showed in some of his studies that most of the pathogenic bacteriae and
fungus in the mouth, within tooth pockets, from dead teeth or infected jaw bone might
be able to transform the mercury, organically bound, to complex forms of
dimethylmercury with a even higher toxic impact; According to his opinion these
mechanisms might be the reason for the development of so called “oral Supertoxins”.
This can be avoided by paying attention to other interference fields and foci within the
oral cavity.
Animal experiments on sheep with radioactively marked mercury have shown that after
28 days of amalgaminsertion an accumulation of mercury could be demonstrated within
the jaw bone and oral soft tissues of the amalgam exposed animals. Pregnant sheep
could demonstrate perfectly the pass-through effect mercury has on the placenta. The
radioactively marked mercury could be detected in the fetus as well. After removal of
the mercury fillings they could show high accumulation of mercury within the sheep’s
intestinal tract, bone marrow, kidneys and adrenals; the main organs for detoxification.
This is why we think that there shouldn’t be any kind of removal without protective
drainage therapy.
Most of the patients we have at Paracelsus Clinic didn’t have their fillings for 28 days to
carry along; most of them had been exposed to mercury for more than 20 up to 50 years.
Even among those that had been rehabilitated by replacing all the amalgam fillings they
had, we frequently find amalgam particle within soft tissue, jaw bone and below gold
crowns and/or prosthetic bridgework.
The clinical symptoms we observe in people suffering from Amalgam Intoxification are
mainly vegetative, neurological and skin respectively mucous membranes affecting
disorders.
Clinical symptoms of Amalgam Intoxification:
General Symptoms
Vegetative NS
Trembling, Tremor mercuralis
Insomnia
Anorexia
Chronic fatigue, low energy, easy exhaustion,
general oscitacy
Reduced reactivity, feeling of weakness
Concentration and thinking disorders
Head
Neurological
Headaches, migraines, facial neuralgias
Burning tongue, glossopyrosis, dry mouth,
aphthous ulcers
Dental impressions on sideways of tongue
Metallic taste in mouth
Neckaches
Dizziness
Eye disorders, impaired vision
Skin
Skin / Mucous
Membrane
Hair loss, dull (non-luster/less) hair
Pruritus, skin eruptions, dirty gray facial skin
Localized erythemas
Perspiration
Chronic Cystitis
Colitis, Stomatitis, Bronchitis
Regarding threshold values for amalgam it’s similar like with other environmental
toxins, it’s impossible to judge about the real body burden relying on blood, urine, hair
or saliva analyses. Drasch et al. were able to demonstrate within a population of gold
miners sicken with amalgam intoxification, that 70% showed no elevated mercury
concentration in their blood or urine values. Autopsystudies illustrate the same
phenomena. Some cadavers might show low urine mercury content with high tissue
mercury load, meanwhile others might show high urine mercury content with low
kidney tissue burden and vice versa. Looking at the table the values for mercury within
urine and kidney tissue do not correlate positively. This means there is no reason for
thinking that the mercury levels within the urine predict the mercury kidney tissue
content. There are bodies that show 0.3 nanogram mercury within the urine meanwhile
the kidney tissue shows 350 ng Hg per gram. Others show 2 ng Hg/ml within the urine
meanwhile the kidney tissue had just 150 ng Hg/g to offer.
This corresponds with the findings of Boyd Haley. The sheep showing the radioactively
marked mercury after 28 days of amalgam insertion loaden to certain organs did not
show any elevated mercury levels within their blood- and urinevalues.
It’s not necessarily the mercury that’s excreted by the body through blood, urine, hair or
faeces which can be made responsible for the toxicity, it’s rather the mercury that stays
within the organs and cells. At the same mercury exposure people with high mercury
values within the blood, hair and urine might be healthier and having less mercury
stored within the organs than people that don’t show any mercury within the mentioned
biomarkers. The detoxification capacity differs individually and is partially related to
genetical polymorphism of detoxification enzymes of phase I and II, and at the same time
depending on the accumulated total toxic burden someone might carry around and the
supply with nutrients, that help to eliminate toxins.
Even with lead there is no threshold value existing that can exclude any damage.
This is why it’s not miraculous that e.g. autistic children do have eight times less
mercury levels in their first hair cut after birth than healthy children – despite they had
been exposed to much higher values of mercury via placentar transfer and other early
childhood exposures (motherly amalgams and thimerosal from vaccinations)
Looking at the table for mercury values within the first haircut of healthy and autistic
children according to motherly amalgam fillings during pregnancy, healthy children
show increasing mercury values in case their mother show ascending amounts of
amalgam fillings. Autistic children don’t show this effect and might not be able to excrete
the motherly given mercury load via hair and blood and it’s presumably stored in the
brain where it leads to tremendous damage. It’s quite understandable why the lower the
mercury levels within the hair were the more pronounced the autism was.
From this perspective the following questions seem easy to answer:
Why do those patients with high mercury values in their urine (after DMPS Test)
recover most often from their symptoms after replacement therapy for amalgams and
correct drainage therapy? And why did those children with the highest mercury values
showed the best development status? – it seems that those patients showing high
mercury levels in their urine, blood and hair, have high capacity of drainage meanwhile
low values are suspect for storing the mercury within the organism.
Experts, who deny any correlation of professional mercury exposure and disease
development but definitely see a link between subjectively experienced symptoms
referred as being caused by amalgams/mercury and psychosomatic pathologies often
argue, that according to the half-life of mercury every exposure of mercury to the body
should be eliminated within 20-50 days. This would imply, that the mercury once having
entered the body by whatever way, has left totally within a relatively short period of
time without leaving any residues all naturally happening. Scientific data and clinical
experience draws different conclusions. Mercury can have a very individual half-life
especially within the brain. Opitz et al. demonstrated this in 1996 with a case where a 41
year old worker who was exposed to mercury vapors in 1974 suffering from a so called
“organic psychosyndrome” the following 16 years before his final death: at the
beginning the mercury values within the urine had been high as expected, after four
weeks of chelation therapy the values dropped down to normal. But for the patient the
symptoms remained. He was still suffering from enormous tiredness, inner restlessness,
burning sensations within the intestines etc. Up until 1986 several forensic expertises
claimed that the mercury content of the body must have been normal since 1976 and
thus the ongoing symptoms are not relatable to the mercury exposure; especially since
the provocations testings with chelators didn’t show any elevated values within the
patient’s urine. The patient died in 1990 at the age of 57 from lung cancer without being
able to work again. The autopsy showed mercury values within:
Cerebellum (2.190 ng/g); Occiput (1.090 ng/g); Thalamus (1.010 ng/g); Kidneys (1.650
ng/g); Lung (600ng/g); Thyroid (250 ng/d).
In comparison in vitro experiments show that 0.2 ng/g can already cause damage to a
cell. Neither the natural way of elimination nor chelationtherapy was obviously able to
eliminate the mercury in total. With a half-life of 80 days the mercury must have been
eliminated within 2 years. This tragic patient is not an isolated case once happening
among millions.
There are beliefs among experts that mercury contamination derives mainly from food
chain (vegetables, fruit, potatoes, fish) and at the very end of the list amalgams.
Experiments on dead bodies from Guzzi et al. 2006 demonstrate that people with
amalgams show a twice up to 12 times higher mercury deposit within their organs than
people without amalgams. Furthermore it was demonstrated that there was a ten times
higher mercury deposit found within the brains of people showing 12 and more
amalgamfillings in comparison to cadavers that had less than three amalgamfillings
(even not been mercury free). Remarkable with this study was also, that those with the
higher amount of mercury in their brains had not only more amalgam fillings but did die
conspicuously often from suicide. That a mercury exposure can lead to suicidal thoughts
or even to an elevated suicide rate has been shown in studies done with swedish
dentists (Arnetz BB, Horte LG, Hedberg A, Malker H: Suicide among Swedish dentists. A
ten year follow-up study. Scand J soc Med 1987; 15 (4): 243-6.) Throughout the years
there had been several other studies done that describe the correlation between
amalgam using practitioners and their staff showing frequently neuro-psychological
abnormalities and measurable disturbance of memory. Some even claim a higher
coincidence of pathologic musclebiopsies among amalgam using dentists and staff. 85%
of the dentists showed elevated values of Coproporphyrine within their urine, which
indicates a dysfunction of their Haem synthesis. The same was shown for 53% of
children with autism.
Haem and subgroups (a,b,c,d,o,l,m,s) have many essential functions:
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It’s vitally important for detoxification as part of all P450-enzymes
As part of the breathing chain within the mitochondriae it’s essential for the
oxidative energyproduction
Within the red blood cells it’s important for the transportation of oxygen and
carbon dioxide elimination
Drains beta-amyloid from the brain which can cause Alzheimer disease
The average mercury concentration within braintissue of people with amalgams (more
than 12 fillings) add up to 300 ng mercury per gram braintissue. This equals a
concentration of 1.5 yMol. Among patients with less than 4 amalgam fillings a
concentration of 0.1 yMol was found. Within the kidneys of people with amalgams (more
than 10 fillings) they found a mean of 2.52 yMol of mercury concentration; meawhile
people with less than three fillings showed a mean value of 0.27 yMol. (121,33)
Whether the mercury concentrations measured in people with different amounts of
amalgamfillings were toxic could be demonstrated in animal and in vitro cell testings.
We need to consider that the mercury used in these tests had been anorganic mercury,
mercurychloride, which is less accessible to the body’s cells than mercury vapour or
organically bound methylmercury; because once the mercury vapour has reached the
cell’s inside it’s oxidized to an anorganic mercury ion and can hardly escape which leads
to structural damage. It’s therefore one of the most toxic forms of mercury.
The literature cited below could demonstrate that mercury concentrations of 0.1 yMol
can already lead to neural damage (axonal degeneration and development of
neurofibrills), which can be observed in many neurological illnesses. Concentrations of
0.18 yMol mercury lead to a secretion of beta-amyloid (a protein that accumulates
within the brain and constrains brain function), elevated oxidative stress and a
hyperphosphorylation of the tau-protein; and that’s exactly what happens in
Alzheimer’s. Concentrations of 0.27 – 2.7 yMol lead to measurable interference with
human immunecell production, liver-, kidney- and braincellfunction. There was also a
potentized toxic effect of mercury visible if silver, tin, copper, zinc and other heavy
metals e.g lead had been around.
Still amalgams do have a big lobby around the world and paradoxically it’s either save in
human teeth or on a hazardous waste deposit (as soon it’s no longer in human teeth). It
remains to be seen whether the resolution of the UNO environmental ministers made in
February 2009 will be transferred to abolish amalgam as a dental filling material within
the next two years.
As literature shows mercury can lead to neurological changes typical for Alzheimer
Disease. Low concentrations of mercury were able to destroy microtubuli, that had been
responsible for the mechanical stabilization of the cell, its external form, for the active
motion of the cell and for transportation processes within the cell. Mercury even in low
concentrations could provoke elevation of oxidative stress (cell ageing), beta-amyloid
secretion and development of neurofibrillar tangles (tangles = Neurofibrills showing
structural changes).
But there are also genetical risk factors for Alzheimer’s: the apolipoprotein E (Apo E). It
exists in different variations: Apo E2, Apo E3 and Apo E4. Every human posseses two of
these Apolipoproteins (one from the father and one from the mother). People with two
Apo E2 have a 50% reduced risk to acquire Alzheimer’s disease; those that possess two
Apo E4 have a 15 times elevated risk to acquire Alzheimer’s. People with two Apo E3
have a normal risk to get sick. The only difference between these Apolipoproteins is the
possession of sulfurgroups, that can protect the brain from toxins. The Apolipotproteins
consist of 299 aminoacids and the cysteine contains sulfurgroups. Meanwhile:
Apo E2- shows at position 112 and 158 a Cysteine aminoacid (this is why people with
two Apo E2 have 4 sulfurgroups in total to avoid heavy metal damage)
Apo E3 – possesses at position 112 a cysteine, at position 158 a arginine aminoacid
Apo E4 – possesses at position 112 and at position 158 an arginine aminoacid and does
not show a protective cysteine aminoacid. This is why these people with a genetic
defecit of Cysteine react more sensitive to heavy metals and develop more often
alzheimer’s than the other groups.
Africans, who stay with their traditional nutrition, rarely suffer from alzheimer’s despite
they more often show the bad Apo E4 in comparison to the white population. As soon as
they begin to live in industrialized states with different eating habits; mainly sugar and
refined starches, they more often suffer from cavities and receive amalgams; at the same
time their risk for alzheimer’s rises.
5% of all adults in the USA and Europe suffer from an autoimmunedisease.
Autoimmunediseases can be summarized as a disturbance of the immunesystem against
autogenic tissue leading to inflammation in diverse areas and organs of the body. At the
university of Dusseldorf Ernst Gleichmann and his team found out that in experiments
with mice the immunitary reaction against an antigen can be influenced through goldand mercurysalts. Whilst without heavy metals the antigen was attacked by T-cells
correctly, after a treatment with gold- and/or mercury salts the immune system no
longer reacted appropriately to the antigen. There is quite good reason to believe that
these mechanisms are also responsible for the development of autoimmunediseases.
The inhalation of mercury vapors have to be found to cause ulcerative Colitis. The
replacement of amalgams and following correct drainage treatments lead to a decrease
of antibodies in Hashimoto disease. Even rheumatoid arthritis can be presumed to be
one of the autoimmune diseases caused by heavy metals or at least as an important
cofactor. Some publications reveal a correlation between amalgams and the
development of multiple sclerosis and the course of the disease. One of the analysis
illustrates a 3.9 times higher risk for people with a median amount of amalgam fillings to
develop multiple sclerosis in comparison to people with no amalgam in their mouths.
There also seems to be a correlation between the incidence of cavities and the
consequently usage of amalgams with the occurrence of multiple sclerosis. Some MS
epidemics have been brought up by acute exposition with mercury vapors or lead.
Anorganic mercury showed in animal testings loss of myelin sheaths (by decrease of
swannon cells) and antibody increase against the myelin basic protein. Swedish
investigations showed that liquor of MS patients had 7.5 higher concentrations of
mercury in comparison to non-MS patients. MS patients that did have an amalgam
removal after MS had been manifested showed significantly better blood values, less
depression and less MS symptoms as well as less relapses. On the other hand amalgam
removal was able to cause MS attacks, this means that mobilization of heavy metals and
mercury from body depots might be responsible for relapses since the immunecell is
repeatedly exposed to the heavy metal in case no proper drainage or precaution had
been considered. This is why we are in favour for a maximally protected, gentle removal
without any irksome means in combination with an effective detoxification protocol.
Mutter et al. points out that there is great evidence for intercorrelations of
mercuryexposure of the mother and the child to develop autism. The main source for
mercury for a newborn child comes from the amalgam fillings of its mother having first
intrauterine contact since mercury isn’t stopped by the placentar barrier. In case there is
a genetical disposition a second contact with heavy metals e.g. through vaccination
during early childhood may cause the total picture of autism. Some parents observe that
their child looses some of their abilities right after infant vaccinations even those they
used to handle already in an appropriate manner like walking or talking.
It was shown experimentally that the toxicity of mercury can be elevated through other
vaccinationadditives like Neomycin and aluminium. At the same time there seems to be
augmentable measelviruses playing an important role in the development of autism,
since these viruses could be increasingly detected in brain and lymphatic tissue of
autistic children.
Also the usage of antibiotics or Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) in early childhood might
be a riskfactor, since antibiotics or Acetaminophen can lead to a lower excreation rate of
mercury.
Nutritional factors seem to be decisive as well; there is evidence that a possible toxic
impact of glutamate and aspartame elevates the toxicity of heavy metals.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – Lou Gehrig’s disease
As a progressive and rather fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration
of motor neurons, those nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary
muscle movement. Named after Lou Gehrig, a famous new york Yankees baseball player,
who was diagnosed with the disease in 1939. The best known person today diagnosed
with ALS is Stephen Hawking. The disorder causes muscle weakness and atrophy
throughout the body including the muscles necessary for breathing. From
schoolmedicine perspective riluzol might be able to cause a 3 monthly elongation of
survival time since this medication blocks the neurotransmitter glutamat, which has
been made responsible for neural tissue damage and breakdown. According to scientific
studies the disease begins with elevated oxidative stress within the nervous system. The
elevated oxidative stress is supposed to lead to an elevated excretion of the
neurotransmitter Glutamat, which in higher quantities is able to damage nerve cells. The
real reason for the oxidative stress within the central nervous system are
controversially discussed. But only 2% of all ALS patients do show a mutation of the
Superoxiddismutase 1 Gene, which would also lead to elevated oxidative stress. On the
other hand ALS patient most often have less reduced Glutathione available due to
polymorphisms of the glutathion-s-transferase (another important detoxification
enzyme). This way there is less glutathione available for the detoxification of mercury.
It becomes a vicious circle. Elevated mercury levels are responsible for elevated
oxidative stress, which elevates the glutamate amount. At the same time mercury
reduces the amount of glutathione, which normally should be used for reducing the
oxidative stress. It’s very obvious that the mercury including other heavy metals can
become very destructive for neural tissue.
There had been animal testings showing that mercury accumulates in motor neurons
and elevates the oxidative stress which leads to nerve cell damage. Within mice simple
mercury vapors were able to destroy motor neurons. Besides mercury it seems that lead
is also involved in ALS development.
Mercury burden lower the capability to produce serotonin resp. the precursor 5
hydroxytryptophane within the brain. The experience with ALS patients shows that they
have difficulties to detox heavy metals. Even on provocation with DMPS they don’t show
elevated levels of heavy metals in their urine samples. At least within animal
experiments it was shown that heavy metal detoxification is worthwhile treating ALS.
The job-related mercury burden elevates the risk for parkinson’s disease 8 times. This
had been shown in dentists and dental staff using amalgams in their daily practice with
higher mortality rates due to dementia and parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s patients did
have a significantly higher amount of amalgam fillings in their mouths and showed
higher values of mercury within their tissues. Those patients following a detoxification
protocol did report an amelioration of their symptoms. There is evidence that even
other metals like manganese, copper, iron and lead might be responsible for the
development of Parkinson’s disease. The same counts for pestizides. As with alzheimer’s
it seems like the existence of Apolipoprotein E4 elevates the risk for parkinson’s, since
Apo E4 can’t eliminate heavy metals properly due to the missing cystein as
sulfurgroupdonator.
Working with dental filling materials always means compromising. There is no material
that fulfills all criteria we would like to be fulfilled not endangering the body and being
as durable and lasting as the original tooth.
What I want you to understand is that we might want to live with certain materials even
though not perfect to all circumstances, but that we also should definitely avoid certain
materials due to their possible hazards and impacts on the human body.
As we have learned there is: amalgam, palladium, platin, titanium, chromium-cobaltmolybdenum alloys (so called:steel prothesis; some of the older dentists might know
this material; still existing in ordinary practices because of it’s cost effectiveness), metal
or steel posts, soldering oxid compounds that might be part of a construction;
On the other hand we have non-metal materials: adhesives, bonding agents, plastics as
fillingmaterial, prothesis, veneer, temporaries or endodontic material: guttapercha
which is supposed to be radioactive, root filling pastes that contain normally:
formaldehyde, methanal, antibiotics, cortisone; ceramic paints for individualized tooth
appearance at manufactured plastic teeth (e.g.Vita). we all know that these plastics
components do polymerize within the mouth for months up to years that polymer
exposure should be avoided wherever possible.