Mercury and Amalgam

Mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive heavy metal on earth. Heavy metal toxins include lead, arsenic, and cadmium. Mercury is more hazardous than all of them. The World Health Organization has stated that there is no safe level of mercury exposure. Silver-amalgam fillings are a mixture of many elements, but each is approximately 45% elemental mercury. It was once believed that the mercury in the mixture was stably bound to the other components and couldn’t escape. But numerous studies show that mercury is constantly released from amalgam as a breathable vapor. There are affordable, effective, and cosmetically superior filling materials available to dentists today. If we assume that there’s no safe level of mercury exposure, the continued use of mercury-amalgam doesn’t make sense.
 

Mercury and Health

Mercury is a bio-accumulative toxin that concentrates in the body’s tissues over time. Small steady doses bring about concentrations in the liver, kidneys, gastro-intestinal tract, and especially in the brain and nerve tissue. Mercury eventually binds with the sulfur groups of the body’s enzymes. Once present, mercury molecules prevent bound enzymes from forming the shapes needed to catalyze chemical processes. Since chemical reactions are involved in a great variety of bodily functions, mercury’s effects on health are incredibly varied. Non-lethal accumulations may not manifest severe symptoms but can cause a suite of subtle ailments and aggravate existing conditions. Some patients’ symptoms can baffle the physicians who try to help. In most cases the patient’s possible mercury load goes unaddressed. Heavy metal poisoning may not be the cause of an individual’s complaints. But it stands to reason that any possible sources of contamination should be removed. There’s no argument that mercury in any quantity is a potential hazard for the body.

Mercury and the Environment

Mercury contaminates food chains at every level. Through the process of bio-magnification, mercury concentrations in wildlife increase as the toxin moves up the food chain. Each animal absorbs the majority of the methylated mercury content of the plants or animals it feeds on. This is why the highest concentrations are found at the top of the chain, in large predators. Along the way mercury inevitably infiltrates human food sources. Mercury eaten by humans is particularly dangerous to children and fetuses. Government policy has greatly reduced the mercury discharge from U.S. industries. But contamination remains an issue and can originate from surprising sources. Dental practices operate under ordinances governing safe mercury handling. But the measures needed to prevent mercury contamination of wastewater discharge are voluntary and poorly represented amongst dental offices.

 Safe-Mercury Removal

Dental offices can produce a surprising amount of mercury pollution. As a mercury free office we don’t place amalgam, but we work around it every day and frequently remove it. When amalgam is disturbed its mercury release increases. Susquehanna Dental Arts protects our patients and environment with specialized equipment and methodologies that help minimize the impact of this release. Dr Allison follows all of the recommended guidelines specified by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) for safe mercury removal. Our office uses an amalgam separator to trap the heavy metals that pass through our chair side suction lines. Typically, the discharge from these lines flows directly into community waste water where it can contaminate the local ecosystem. The separator unit eliminates over 99% of this mercury discharge. To protect our patients and staff from any mercury vapors released during amalgam removal procedures we use in-operatory ionizers to charge and trap free mercury molecules, and specialized Clean-Up brand suction heads in combination with traditional rubber dams. Supplemental air sources are available on request to provide additional protection from airborne contaminants.