EP 60: Are Your Dental Fillings Exposing You to Mercury?

The Mercury Filling Question

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I love the story that you you talk about, the Mad Hatter story. Mm-hmm. You know? Yep. Can you t share the Mad Hatter story, you know, about Mercury? And where this might be illegal. Is this illegal in some places to place amalgam?

What Silver Fillings Contain

The Mad Hatter Mercury Warning

Why Amalgam Still Gets Used

SPEAKER_00 0:14

It is. It's actually been banned in many European countries. So in fact, uh many countries have been without it for 20 plus years. But yeah, the the origination of these fillings. So so people are clear what I'm talking about. These are silver fillings. So if you look in your mouth, look in somebody's mouth, and you see kind of a black, grayish-looking thing in a tooth, that is the kind of filling I'm talking about. Any kind of metallic filling other than gold. There are a few little gold restorations hanging around. They were really done a lot, a lot of many years ago. But anything metal in your mouth is most likely going to be the kind of filling I'm talking about. And it is 50% mercury. We talk about mercury in fish. We talk about mercury in vaccines. Is anyone talking about mercury in dental fillings? And it is the number one source for mercury in the environment. Is dental fillings being drilled out, washing down our drains, going into the water system? So this is absolutely huge. And it started in Europe in the 1800s. At the time, there was no such thing as a dentist. There were barbers and there were doctors that were both doing dentistry. So barbers had you in a chair, they would lean you back, cut your hair, do a shave, and fill a tooth or yank a tooth, you know? And uh the doctors were doing the same. They were the ones that were doing dentistry. And the barbers were getting real tired of pulling teeth. And I can only imagine, you know, I've pulled teeth on people that are numb, and I have really great instruments and lights and everything, and they're doing it not numb. No, no way to really do this. I can't even imagine. So they figured out that they can mix silver shavings with elemental mercury, the liquid kind that's in a thermometer. They could mix it together and it would form kind of this putty material that they could shove in a tooth and a hole in a tooth and it would harden and it wouldn't lead to, you know, the tooth wouldn't further decay or it would at least slow it down. It would, it would take care of a lot of the problem. So they were ecstatic. Like this was a phenomenal invention, right? Be able to slow down tooth decay to be able to save a tooth, perhaps. But the doctor said, we actually think this is a really bad idea, because right around the same time, the common use for mercury was in hat making. People would rub mercury on fur and it would turn it into felt. And this is when all the men were wearing these felt hats. So they were using mercury to make felt hats. Well, what was happening is these young men who were doing this procedure with this mercury on the fur, they were getting what they would call Danbury shakes. They were shaking so bad they couldn't feed themselves anymore. And these were young, 20-something young men. They couldn't walk. They looked like they were drunk when they were walking. Their speech was slurred. So they started calling them mad hatters because they literally looked and acted like they were mad. And the doctors realized it was from the mercury. So they said, we think it's a really bad idea to put mercury in people's mouths because we see that it's actually like killing these people that are working with it uh in their jobs. And the barbers said, It's working great for us, we're gonna keep going. And they did. And that's what the United States, when dentistry came to the United States, these mercury, silver mercury fillings were just part of standard of care, and they have been ever since.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

They have been especially pediatric, you know, but because they're like especially pediatric, because they're like, well, it's less expensive, and they're gonna lose that tooth anyways.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yep, yep. And it's commonly done. Now the FDA, I believe it's the FDA, has said that they are not recommended in children under the age of six or pregnant women. This has been a huge advance, actually, in our country. But anytime I hear that, I always think, well, if not them, then why anyone? Anyone I don't really think it would be great, a great idea in anybody. But yes, they are still placed. So people will often, that's usually the next comment to me. They'll say, Oh, well, aren't you glad that they're not placed anymore? Like, what are you talking about? They're placed every day, all day long, and dental offices throughout the country. Oh, yes. This is standard of care, particularly in lower demographic areas, places where insurance, dental insurance is really the only way people are able to pay for care or Medicaid, particularly. Usually dental, uh, these silver fillings are the fillings of choice that Medicaid will pay for, which is really to me a tragedy. So these are still being placed every day, but not only being placed, they're being removed every day because these fillings actually clack crack your teeth. They create all kinds of, you've seen it, you know, they create all kinds of cracks in the tooth. There's new decay underneath them, they lead to all sorts of tooth problems. So dentists, whether they understand this component about health or not, they're removing mercury fillings all day long every day because they're just ruining teeth and breaking teeth. And, you know, they just with wear and tear, they wear out, they have to be replaced.

Safe Removal With The SMART Protocol

SPEAKER_01 4:47

And not only that, with the metal, you know, it's like a, you know, you can explain what it does as well with the 5G and everything, it's just energetically, it's just like an antenna for all of that, which causes inflammation in the body and you know, so many root cause of illnesses. But, you know, I feel there's just so much to cover, but with what's your out, what I'm trying to do is empower everybody, start a movement, because if there's more patients asking about, okay, I don't want this metal anymore in my mouth, you know, and do the SMART protocol, because there's also a protocol to how to remove them to protect the patient and protect the dentist as well. So it's like it's supply and demand, right? How we can shift the career instead of starting with maybe, oh, the ADA and all this, you know, let's start with the patient really asking. Let's start that movement. So this is why I'm trying to be an advocate as well. And and I know, you know, I pray a prayer of protection every day because there's people that are not gonna like me doing that, you know. But I I'd love for you to dive into as well. I some of my friends, families are really curious about why no metal compared, you know, even implants. Why not why doing ceramic implants instead of and then dive into root canals, cavitations, you know, these are all very new terms to people as to why these are might not be a good idea for them.

Finding Trained Dentists And Detox Support

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Yep. So to finish on the mercury filling piece, the most important thing that you as a consumer, you know, somebody with teeth, needs to know is number one, they are being placed, but you can choose to not have them. So you can choose what's called a composite resin or a ceramic dental restoration instead. And both highly recommended. They are great. There is no metal involved in them at all. But if you have currently have old mercury fillings in your mouth, the only way to have them removed is with certain protocols. So that's the that's kind of the end of the story, or not even the end of the story. The middle of my story is, you know, to be able to get better, the doctor said, Well, you can't keep putting this mercury in if you're gonna actually get it out. You know, we can figure out and help you detox this and get it out of your body, but you can't keep breathing it in if you're gonna get it out at the same time. So they said, Were there are there ways you can do these procedures and not breathe it in? And I said, I don't know, but I'm gonna go find out. So I started searching and I found an organization called the IAOMT. Had never heard of them before. They had an entire protocol. Who knew? You know, other dentists don't know. I can guarantee you that. So they have an entire protocol that is called SMART. And what that is, is a safe mercury amalgam removal technique. That's what it stands for, but it's a safe procedure. So what needs to happen is if you're win and if you're gonna get these removed, I recommend you get them removed, but only do it if you do it safely. So you're going to find someone who is able to do it this way. You're going to notice a difference when you walk in that room. You're gonna have coverings on, you know, you on, you're gonna have a rubber dam on your mouth, you're gonna have a mask on your nose, you're gonna have a giant vacuum at your chin that's gonna suck the vape the vapors away. The dentist will wear a special mercury mask as well. The dental assistant. All of these things need to be in place if you're going to have it removed. So if ever this is the most common question, well, where do I find one of those dentists? Two places. I have a directory on my website. So my direct my website is livingwellwithdrmichelle.com. It's a free directory. Go on there, find a dentist near you, or you can go on the website of the IAOMT. So IAOMT.org. And that website will also have all of the people who have been trained in the SMART protocol. So that is what you need to know is do not get them removed unless you're going to do it safely. And when you do it, please make sure that you're working with a functional medicine practitioner, somebody that can help get that mercury out of your system. Because I am exactly like you, and I've gotten emotional on podcasts before talking about this. Saying if I can save one dentist from what I went through, and if I can save one dentist from what you've gone through and your husband went through, I have had three friends that have committed suicide this year alone in dentistry.