MS, Mercury and My Mouth
When I was a child my teeth had a lot of cavities So, I had lots of fillings in my mouth. The fillings were silver amalgam, which contain about 50% mercury.
Mercury is a pretty toxic metal. In fact, these days if you break a thermometer and its mercury spills onto the table, a hazardous materials team will be dispatched to clean it up.
Silver dental filling
IAOMT photo
Over the years there have been many reports written about whether mercury is dangerous to use in dental fillings. Some of those studies have associated silver fillings with several diseases, including multiple sclerosis, but the majority of those studies deny any connection with these diseases.
So, it was interesting that a news release hit my inbox the other day announcing that some European Union entities are in favor of banning these fillings in some cases.
The European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union have reached a provisional agreement that, as of July 1, 2018, dental amalgam fillings should be banned in the EU for children younger than 15, and for pregnant and breastfeeding women. The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), which is a non-profit group that encourages worldwide efforts to end dental mercury, issued the news release promoting that announcement.
“Mercury is toxic, and its use in all silver-colored dental fillings has been linked to environmental harm, as well as increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, infertility, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and many other adverse health conditions,” writes Tammy DeGregorio, DMD, president of the IAOMT. The IAOMT, in fact, thinks the use of dental mercury should be banned entirely, worldwide.
What’s prompting the EU?
I have to wonder why these three EU groups are taking action.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no problem with the use of mercury in fillings, writing on its website:
“FDA has reviewed the best available scientific evidence to determine whether the low levels of mercury vapor associated with dental amalgam fillings are a cause for concern. Based on this evidence, FDA considers dental amalgam fillings safe for adults and children ages 6 and above. The weight of credible scientific evidence reviewed by FDA does not establish an association between dental amalgam use and adverse health effects in the general population. Clinical studies in adults and children ages 6 and above have found no link between dental amalgam fillings and health problems.”
The National MS Society’s booklet, “Dental Health – The Basic Facts,” knocks down claims that using mercury in fillings contributes to someone’s MS:
“There have been claims over the years that mercury leaking from amalgam dental fillings damages the immune system and causes a broad range of diseases, including MS. While the cause of MS remains unknown, there is no scientific evidence that heavy metal poisoning is responsible for either the onset or worsening of MS. There is no reason to have your dental fillings removed or replaced. This is a very expensive procedure with no proven benefit for people with MS.”
The EU’s own Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks issued a report a few years ago concluding, in part:
“…there is no scientific evidence for risks of adverse systemic effects exist and the current use of dental amalgam does not pose a risk of systemic disease.”
So, what’s going on here? Has an industry group lobbied EU politicians to support a belief about mercury dental fillings that many, if not most, researchers don’t support? If there’s been new evidence to support this decision I can’t find it, and it’s not included in the IAOMT’s news release.
The IAOMT has developed a process to safely remove silver fillings and it supports a group of dentists who use it. Could that be the reason for this latest push to ban the use of these fillings? Just wondering.
Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Multiple Sclerosis News Today, or its parent company, Bionews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to multiple sclerosis.
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Comments
Freya Koss
Dear Ed,
Wow...finally an intelligent patient diagnosed with MS has expressed interest and concern that the mercury in silver amalgam fillings may have contributed to and/or caused the symptoms recognized by the medical profession as Multiple Sclerosis. On that note, in 1998 I was diagnosed with MS and/or Lupus by an eminent Philadelphia neuro-ophthalmologist. When I questioned him, "What causes MS and Lupus", he unequivocally answered, "there are no known causes", and warned me, "get used to it, you will be sick for the rest of you life," only offering me steroids to "fix my eyes". Having had two friends die of MS and Lupus, I knew at the age of 56 that I would no longer know the active life I enjoyed. Desperate to regain my love of life, I rejected prescribed drugs and immediately entered the research world of the Internet. My prayers were answered at 3:30 am., after five relentless 20 hour days of research. An English woman who had suffered with MS for ten years shared the fact that silver amalgam fillings contained 50% mercury, a known neurotoxin, and had been scientifically linked to many diseases including Multiple Sclerosis.
Unfamiliar with need to have amalgam fillings removed by a dentist trained to remove these toxic fillings safely in order to protect the patient and dental staff from inhalation of mercury during the process, she unknowingly had two fillings drilled out by an ordinary dentist. Seven days later she was struck with double vision and her MS symptoms exacerbated.
THAT WAS MY ANSWER: Seven days prior to being struck with double vision, I had what I thought was a silver filling, drilled out and refilled with a new silver filling. I had not been advised by any of my dentists that silver amalgam fillings contained 50% mercury,
a poison known to cause neurological, cognitive, autoimmune and many other life threatening health problems including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and Myasthenia Gravis. Incidentally, my third neurological diagnosis was Myasthenia Gravis, however, an alternative medical doctor ultimately diagnosed me with "mercury poisoning from the drilling out of the dental amalgam". All of my twelve amalgam fillings were carefully removed by Dr. Blanche Grube, using the IAOMT safe protocol for removal necessary to protect both patient and dental staff from inhalation of mercury vapors. Dr. Grube and her assistant wear gas masks!
The IAOMT has done extensive research on this subject matter for more than 30 years and can certainly provide a plethora of scientific evidence supporting the causal association between mercury released from amalgam dental fillings and a very long list of life-threatening diseases and symptoms.
Please take the time to read my story, interviews with the press and my testimony to the FDA. I was liaison with the FDA's Dr.Jeff Shuren, for several years when working with the IAOMT. Are you aware of Fox News anchor Stacy Case's recovery from MS after having her mercury fillings safely removed by an IAOMT dentist? Her testimony at the 2013 FDA Town Meeting in San Francisco, CA. is compelling. Mercury Mom.com). Also look at the trailer for the documentary "Evidence of Harm".
My mercury story:
NH365 047: False diagnosis – What really triggered autoimmune disease
Looking for the Silver Lining with photos before and after
Woman Claims She was Mercury Poisoned (Huntsville ALA) TV news with Elise Morgon 12.2013
http://whnt.com/2013/12/17/woman-claims-she-was-mercury-poisoned/
Testimonies of others affected by their mercury fillings-FDA hearing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZviAmoDwZLg
Stacey Case -
Mercury mom My journey back from ms
www.mercurymom.com
Mercury mom. My journey back. from ms Stacy Case . My name is Stacy Case. I am amom, a wife, a believer, a journalist and a fighter. ... What is Mercury?
Evidence of Harm: Mercury Dental Fillings Destroy Health ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJO1C_ELvKc
Evidence of Harm: Mercury Dental Fillings Destroy Health - Trailer 02 ... Stacy Case, was diagnosed with ... After finding published studies linking
db
I too after retiring from Teaching was diagnosed with MS. I had 12 Fillings.... very large fillings that my holistic dentist said was equivalent to 18. I have had them removed and then she sent me to a functional medicine doctor and I had all kinds of tests completed from Genova labs. Long story short, I have metals in my body mainly copper, mercury, lead, tin, Gadolinum (MRI CONTRAST) & Cesium -(Nuclear Stuff - scary?). The lab said that my body genetically can not rid the toxins. So metals have tampered my gut bacteria & ETC. I am on supplements now and then another test before I can detox the metals. SO glad I have removed my mercury fillings. For me, genetically I could not rid the mercury and other metals.... esp the Gadolinum & Mercury...... I have placed my faith in the functional medicine doctor as he has studied my whole body as it works together. MS Doctor's obviously only knows MS. I even had my regular doctor check for metals... but without the DMSA I knew it was going to be negative. Thank God I retired from teaching and had time to investigate on my own the situation. I probably would have been in a wheel chair without hope from the toxins. Wahl's Protocol is working for me!! No processed foods. We are killing ourselves. Please help functional medicine doctors get the word out!! I AM SO LUCKY!!!
Richard Diaz
You and all existing experts ignore basic information. Did you know that there are only 3 ways (vectors) to get sick. Once you understand with of the three got you sick you are half way to experiencing relief.
The Diaz Protocol: If a patient has been diagnosed with a disease or condition that has no identified cause and/or no prescribed cure, the probability of being influenced by one or more of the heavy metals is severe.
Linda Brocato
Hi Ed,
Thank you for your interest in reviving this topic.
Where is the ADA (American Dental Association) in all of this? The ADA created the 1985 Brochure entitled "You Owe It to Yourself" Protect yourself and your staff from one of the hazards of your profession with the ADA’s mercury testing service. This hazard the ADA is talking about is “mercury”. This brochure was in circulation from 1985-1988. Why wasn’t the public told about this by the ADA?
Dr. Hal Huggins (deceased November 29, 2014) spoke with 200 scientists. Here is a quote in an e-mail:
Code of ethics changed in the late 1984. At the beginning of 1984 it stated that if a dentist discovers something that is injurious to dentists or patients, he is obligated to inform both the dental professionals and the public. Huggins followed the instructions, then gave a presentation in July of 1984 to 200 “scientists” of the ADA, at the ADA headquarters in Chicago.
Later in 1984 the code of ethics was changed to what is now referred to as the “gag clause” in which dentists who criticize the use of mercury shall be “sanctioned” up to and including license revocation.
Ed, I was misdiagnosed as having "MS". MS and mercury poisoning mimic each other. After 13 years I found out through testing I was really mercury poisoned. After I had my 16 mercury amalgam fillings safely removed by an IAOMT DDS (www.iaomt.org) I recovered from MS but the residual after effects left me in a wheelchair. I am still "MS" free since 1990.
Why doesn’t the ADA, FDA, MS society etc. raise the red flag…Money…Big money and politics?
David Hall
The EPA requires scrap amalgam in dental offices to be recycled. They are supposed to keep records of their recycling for years. Mercury is more toxic than lead. It is a crime to put it in a landfill. They ADA recommends putting it in people's mouths.
They took lead out of paint, out of plumbing pipes and out of leaded gasoline. They should not allow mercury to be placed in people's teeth. The mercury vapor goes to the lungs, then to the blood, then to the brain.
Karin Delsignore
I don't know if my mercury fillings contributed to causing MS but because I had 3 cracked teeth with amalgams that needed to be removed and repaired, I did go to a biological holistic dentist. I just had the first one done last month and received the crown last week. Awesome experience and not much more costly than traditional dentist. I will be doing the other two in 2017 and will be using same holistic dentist. Never again will I go the traditional dentist route. Better safe than sorry.
Richard R.
You should consider getting tested for mercury levels after your amalgams are removed. If elevated, chelation therapy could help.
anna
Hello, Scandinavia has banned amalgam fillings since 20 years.
Italy has never used amalgam fillings.
Amanda Just
Thank you for writing an article with such pertinent questions about dental mercury. I am commenting here on behalf of the IAOMT, and we would like to share with you and your readers a link to a page that highlights some of the scientific research we have collected about dental mercury and multiple sclerosis:
https://iaomt.org/mercury-ms-summary-references/
Other documents about dental mercury that might be of interest can be found at the following link:
https://iaomt.org/for-patients/mercury-fact-sheet/
We encourage you and others to explore the rest of the website at www.iaomt.org, as well as www.theSMARTchoice.com. Numerous pages provided on both of these websites answer many of the questions raised in this article.
Ulf Bengtsson
Dear readers,
I might be able to shed some light over why the EU has just introduced health based restrictions on the use of mercury containing fillings (dental amalgams or “silver fillings”). Ed Tobias gives us the link to EU: s first SCENIHR -report from 2008. However the SCENIHR Committee published a second one in 2015, https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/health/files/scientific_committees/emerging/docs/scenihr_o_046.pdf
Between 2008 and 2015 it has developed a growing understanding that the way we as individuals react to mercury is based on our susceptibility to the toxin, on our genetic makeup. A certain gene most common in the population is referred to as “wild type”, but some of us have variations of it, known as genetic polymorphisms. These are not genetic errors just normally occurring variations.
A simple comparison of the 2008 and 2015 reports puts the spotlight on this expanded knowledge. We find that the word “susceptibility” is not at all present in the 2008 report but appears 17 times in 2015. The word “polymorphism” appears 2 times in the 2008 report but 44 times in 2015.
This reflects todays frontier in mercury research. Most of the research on the safety of mercury fillings and indeed on any mercury exposure not taking the genetic susceptibility into account has been reduced in importance.
This research is only in its infancy, much work remains to be done when it comes to mercury, genetics and the links to different types of disease.
The work is however well under way. In 2012 Prof. Em. James Woods published a paper where this genetic difference is clear to see. Over 500 Portuguese kids with no dental fillings at all but in big needs for dental care were investigated. After initial base-line testing the cohort was randomly split in two and followed with repeated neuropsychological testing for 7 years. One group got dental composite fillings, the other one mercury containing fillings. After reading the paper one get the impression the authors were struck with the clear difference in neuropsychiatric performance between the two groups. They also found that boys were more susceptible than girls. A few citations:
” These analyses suggest that Attention is highly impacted by Hg among boys with CPOX4 variant status when evaluated in terms of either maximum or cumulative Hg exposure.”
“While there clearly are strong correlations between performances on various behavioral tests, the consistency of these results is nonetheless highly compelling.”
“These findings have important public health implications,…”
This paper is only one of several dealing with genetic susceptibility to mercury.
Philip Longford
As a kid, I always had the cheap option, on the NHS, of amalgam fillings. Anything else was a bit posh! Does chelation therapy help, even if you still have amalgam fillings? No wonder people do not want to admit if this is the cause of so many problems. It would be like the asbestos issues, but multiplied many times over.
Freya Kossr
Ed,
Considering the responses to your article, have you seen an alternative physician who would suggest testing for heavy metals as well as supplements to help you improve your health? With your background in journalism and research, I can't imagine that you would not proceed in following up. MS is not a death sentence if you take charge of your life and health. Please don't give in to the MS Society's believe that there is no known cause or cure for MS. I recovered after being misdiagnosed with MS...So can you! Freya Koss
Freya Koss
Repeated exposure with mercury accelerates progression of multiple sclerosis through ...
GreenMedInfo
Abstract Title: Repeated Administration of Mercury Intensifies Brain Damage in Multiple Sclerosis through Mitochondrial Dysfunction. Abstract Source:.
6. Prochazkova J, Sterzl I, Kucerova H, Bartova J, Stejskal VD. The beneficial effect of amalgam replacement on health in patients with autoimmunity. Neuro Endocrinol. Lett. 2004;25:211–8.[PubMed]
MS was my first diagnosis following the sudden onset of blinding double vision, ptosis and loss of equilibrium in 1998.
Univ. of Pennsylvania's neuro-opthalmologist, Dr. Grant Liu, and other "eminent" local neurologists negated my belief that the symptoms were brought on by having been mercury poisoned seven days prior to the onset of symptoms during the drilling out of an existing amalgam and replacement with a new one. In fact, I was warned that I would be "sick for the rest of my life". Thank the Lord I rejected their diagnosis, otherwise their life sentence would have come to fruition. Dr. Harold Buttrum, MD, my savior, rightfully diagnosed me with mercury poisoning from my dental fillings and recommended detoxification protocols, and I slowly recovered.
David Teiarn
I find it amusing that authoritarians continue to differentiate between mercury caused MS and MS caused by other unidentifiables.
Thimerosal not doubt is also another culprit.
Combine Hg with an acidic western diet and we have a veritable tsunami of destruction.
If it looks like MS acts like MS and has all the properties of MS.
IT IS MS!
Vladamir Putin
Mercury can get into a person's body from their own fillings,from their mothers fillings while they are in the womb,from breastmilk of a mother with amalgams and from vaccines that contain mercury.Can any MS sufferer ever completely rule out mercury as the source of their problem? ??
Dave
Just saw a news report on this. I have MS & I have silver fillings. I was DX with MS at age 45. My question is , all these dentist worked with silver fillings all those years, yet how many got an autoimmune disease? Those dentist had to be breathing in the fumes on a daily basis...and for years. Seems like it doesn’t make sense here.
Ed Tobias
Hi Dave,
You raise an interesting question. The US Food and Drug Administration has just issued a warning about amalgam fillings. I plan on writing about it in an upcoming MS Wire.
Ed
Denise Carter
I am finding it very difficult to find someone, somewhere I can get a Mercury toxicity test, which I require pre and post amalgam removal? I am in the UK. (I was diagnosed with RR MS)
Any advice
Thank you
Ed Tobias
Hi Denise,
Have you tried contacting the UK's MS Association?
Ed