Mercury in "Silver" Amalgam Fillings: "Blame" vs. "Take Action". What Are YOU Going to Do?

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Mardy Ross's picture
Mardy Ross
Title: LumiGRATE Poster - Top of the Totem Pole
Joined: Feb 16 2009
Posts: 2032
User offline. Last seen 44 weeks 14 hours ago.

Do you remember the great day and the great words "take down this wall"? Do you remember the images of that wall coming down? It appears to me that 'the wall' about dental amalgam fillings made of mercury and other metals is being taken down, hopefully with the same positive outcomes as when communism's symbolic and physical wall in Europe came down! Remember, things get worse for a while before they get better, even when most people are happy about the change. This could be quite an interesting time we are going into, as a lot of people are NOT going to be happy about what has gone on in the past. The consumers are certainly not happy about it and now, just as when the physicians started realizing the manipulations they were involved in from "Big Pharma", the dentists will be 'waking up' to the realization about what's gone on in their industry as well.

It is a hard reality to face that you'be 'been duped', and even harder when you've been a provider of something that you believed was one thing and then you found out it was another. Still harder yet when you know that there has been controversy about it for a long time and yet you maintained the 'party line' to your patients and continued to apply a product that is now clearly coming out to the public's awareness as being problematic.  

I've known for a while, as I became a medical provider in the 1990s and needed to think all these things through related to what I was being paid to do for patients, initially as an employee for medical companies billing insurance for the services I provided, that a lot of what was perpetuating the old, bad, information staying in the forefront of what people were told was the whole 'blame' game, which comes with 'risk', which comes with 'costs', which ends up being 'legal costs'. Which is unfortunate and was quite frankly frustrating to watch go on, because people were being hurt by it for day after week after year after decade. When working for myself as an occupational therapist and billing insurance and patients for their shares didn't absolve me of feeling like I was an accessory to a crime against humanity, I quit and started what you see as Lumigrate today. That was five years ago. 

When I think about the era when "the wall" came down in Europe, it is around the time my teeter tottering wellness/illness tipped to illness, as I spent the spring and summer when I was 29, in 1989, in the frightening place of an illness that was withough a known cause, but is within the 'environmental illness' category today. In my case, it was what today is called chronic fatigue syndrome, which I made a good recovery from for many years, only to be suspected of having MS, multiple sclerosis, in 1995.

It was not MS, and I sought out progressive providers related to food allergies which allowed me to improve, but I have never regained 'wellness' for longer than fleeting periods of time, though many things I have done have significantly helped. One of those things was to have the amalgam fillings in my teeth replaced with the plastic composite (though I have since found others who believe there are toxins in those which are concerning and gold is the way to go.) 

More than anything else, I want to underscore that wellness or illness is the cumulative experiences a person has with things that affect the body, mind and spirit. So while many people will read this and be concerned and perhaps frustrated at the costs involved for replacing amalgam fillings, please remember all the other things that go into wellness and do what you can in all areas of your life. But when it comes to heavy metals and the impact they can have on wellness, I hope that everyone takes the opportunity to learn about this information, form their conclusions and then take action on it (or not).

"Taking action" for now might mean talking with your dentist and letting them know what you believe, and helping to educate them about the information I present here (you might provide the information to them), calling elected officials, writing a letter or email, and other forms of proactivity other than researching to find a dentist who is qualified to safely remove and replace mercury amalgam fillings.

Yesterday the Doctor Oz television show tackled one of the most controversial issues in the health industry by airing a lengthy segment about amalgam fillings. Due to his notoriety and the reach of the show related to who watches it, whenever Dr Oz covers something, it tends to get people talking at the very least.

Between his show and others in recent years, which coincided with the number of people using social media to spread links around and share information, there has been a rapid acceleration in information that many of us have known about for years not only reaching consumers but their pressures creating change within 'the systems', which were basically were like fortresses maintaining the 'status quo'. 

In looking for information to link to on DoctorOz.com, there was not yet much to view besides teaser snippets from the show, not the full segment to I went on to YouTube to look for information to include here about the subject.  I am providing the overview, below, of a 60 Minutes segment titled Is there poison in your mouth?, which was posted by a DrRichOnCall on October 8, 2012. 

Sometimes people don't know that "amalgam" is a word that basically means things that are mixed together, in this case the amalgam is made up of 50% mercury, with silver, copper, tin, and zinc comprising the other half. Many people today call them 'mercury amalgam fillings' but in the past they were referred to as "silver fillings"; I find I tend to call them mercury amalgam today. When you think about it, they're not the color of silver, they're the color of mercury, so why did we call them silver? The other fillings used are typically called what their colors are, gold, white, 'enamel-colored'. Perhaps it was because people were more aware of silver and gold due to their being used in coins.

Here are the other highlights of what you will see at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch
 
100 million fillings are added per year to the mouths of Americans. 
 
"Silver" fillings are 50% mercury mixed with silver, copper, tin, zinc
 

100 million fillings /year provided by American dentists


Mercury is more poisonous than lead or arsenic. There have been cases of mercury exposure in certain work environments which has proven it's toxicity on the body and to cause health problems, and mercury was recently banned from being an ingredient in paint manufactured in the United States. 
 
It's use in dental fillings never tested by the FDA. 
 
It is suspected to be a factor in Alzheimer's disease, colitis, and other conditions mentioned. 
 
The opinion of the dental expert primarily interviewed for the 'against mercury' side of the debate, a dentist who is not involved with the American Dental Association (ADA) but is an expert for another well-known international organization, gave this opinion:  "there is no safe level for mercury".  
 
He also points out that the people having mercury/silver amalgam fillings have been "the test group" of what happens with chronic, low does exposure to the mercury which is emitted from these fillings. 
 
They interviewed someone from the ADA -- "you will get some mercury vapor from them" their spokesperson says today, in the past the ADA denied that they put out any vapor. (For five years I have been aware of a video image of a tooth with an amalgam filling outgassing a vapor that was very apparent in the way they demonstrated it. Today on the Dr Oz show they had a highly regarded US scientist demonstrate with Doctor Oz the mercury in a box that came from brushing teeth that had amalgam fillings in them, with sensors monitoring and showing the levels immediately rise out in the box, this was a distance from the 'mouth' within the box. 
 
They showed a still image from when the recording was being done of the interview with this representative and highlighted the ADA's top scientist standing by observing.  On the 60 Minutes show, one of the dentists interviewed said when they had a monitor years back show them the mercury level in someone's mouth, that is when their opinion changed about the safety of mercury amalgam fillings, leading to changes in his practice of dentistry with what to use as filling material. 
 
The interview went on to point out the difference between "clinical" and "scientific" evidence: Clinical evidence being what a provider sees in their clinic, which can be collected as data and studied formally or informally, which includes "anecdotal stories" of people's experiences, either the consume or the provider involved, or others surrounding someone with a story. There are  thousands of stories in the US (and beyond) related to people having their mercury amalgam fillings removed and replaced with another material and improvement in migraine headaches, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, and anemia to name just a few. 
 
So 60 Minutes gave us some stories, and I encourage you to watch the video (it's 22 minutes but only the first 13 minutes or so is about this, so this is less than a 15 minute foray for learning from what these people share: One is a woman who had worked in the dental industry and was diagnosed with MS, who had her mercury amalgam fillings removed/replaced and the next day she was able to walk, dance. Funny detail about what she did with her cane when she saw her nay-saying neurologist the next day too! Today she has symptoms of MS if she gets tired, cold, stressed, but she is definitely one person whose testimony about the improvements after "getting the mercury out" is impressive. Particularly because the show didn't go at all into how mercury ends up being stored in the body and is relatively difficult to get out. (Doctor Oz's show did address this, and suggestions were made for foods and nutrition supplements which are known to be helpful for getting mercury out of the body's tissues, things like cilantro, garlic, and chorella which is from algae and widely available at 'health food stores' per the expert being interviewed. Naturally online suppliers have products as well.)
 
The ADA's representative interviewed by 60 Minutes said that the MS Society's position is that the stories such as the one, above, gets people's hopes up too high and the information about mercury in dental fillings is unfounded. 
 
According to the dental expert who was interviewed who is 'against mercury', the FDA's dental division has been made up of people from the dental industry and there is virtually nobody with basic science or basic medical to give input. "Effective lobbying" is what it is called, he said.  
 
ADA's top scientist, who was shown as being at the interview observing and presumably being there for input to their spokesperson, says that the effects of amalgam fillings have not been well-researched, yet the spokesperson from the ADA for the interview said there were studies. Thanks to 60 Minutes for having caught that discrepancy when preparing for the interview and including that in what was put out in the segment. 
 
"Informed consent" legislation is being fought by the ADA in any state that tries to mandate dentists to tell patients about the risks of mercury amalgam. 
 
"It's not backed up by scientific evidence" is what the ADA's spokesperson said.  Science starts with observation. Yet studies are not being produced, still, despite all the opportunities to do so. Why is this?
 
According to the interview's 'against mercury' dental expert, if you took it off the market, 40% of the dentists in the US would need to be retrained was one explanation. If it's not "reasonably safe", according to currently available information, there have to be reasons for it. As I always say: Follow the money..... There has been a class action lawsuit filed against the ADA by a number of it's members, alleging it has fraudulently represented the amalgam issues to it's members. There are concerns related to who will be held accountable if there are lawsuits related to health impacts on consumers from the use of amalgam fillings. Action on this was expected in March (and it is now the end of March, intersting timing with Dr Oz airing a segment about this controversial topic. This and chelation to get heavy metals out of your body are two topics conventional medicine providers considered so unfounded you were literally putting your credibility at risk by bringing it up!  Progress!)
 
Sweden has allowed them to be replaced under it's nationalized health care system. 
Germany, a total ban is expected within the year. 
 
The experts interviewed by 60 minutes suggest careful consultation before having a mercury amalgam filling removed/replaced. 

 
To continue your education, particularly if you are interested in how to go about safely having fillings replaced or about future dental work being done by dentists who have 'gotten the memo' long ago about these issues and become specialists in something known as 'holistic dentistry' or 'biologic dentistry', I'm going to suggest you go on to read the contents of a couple of topics at Lumigrate related to fluoride and dentistry. I'm going to add them, below, as comments so that they're right here and you don't need to venure off to the 'Supplementing What You Eat and Drink" forum. Yes, when I thought about which of Lumigrate's areas was the closest for fluoride that's added to water, the supplements forum was it, unfortunately. I mean, they're mass medicating a supplement for 'our health'; that was kind of an 'aha' moment  for me, when I went to that forum to place the information about fluoride in water. Everyone has their  moments, sometimes they are and , and sometimes they are , and . Yes, much emotion comes from these revelations and epiphonies. 
 
What you will see, below, is something I wrote and provided a link to a great website by a dentist who practices in the southwest part of Colorado by the last name of Rothchild. I liked the way his website's information was set up to have all the information on it, both from the conventional dental industry and the holistic/biologic -- 'progressive' -- side.
 
I learned of him from Lumigrate's holistic dentist expert, Jim Kennedy, DDS, who also has a good website which you can find by following his signature on the topic I'm going to refer you to from him about the other big debate in dentistry, which is fluoride. I really encourage you to take the time to read his topic about fluoride as it provides clues to how it is that scientific evidence that is found, even when stumbled upon, sometimes ends up 'shelved' and the professional who was stumbling onto something just never produces anything. 
 
I will say this: I was raised to trust my government and the big organizations that are the leaders of industries. I got to enjoy that 'bubble', thankfully, until I was in my mid twenties. Looking back on how many things have affected me which were not made 'right', such as receiving an immunization in 1981 which was part of a class action lawsuit about a decade later, the biggest in US history at the time, and not being tracked down to be included in the lawsuit despite that it was provided to me by a state University's student health center. It was a rubella vaccine which was required of me by the State of Colorado in those days, to get married, if your blood test showed you didn't have immunity to "German measles", since that can be very harmful to babies if the pregnant mother gets the disease while pregnant.
 
Five percent of adults who got the vaccine had an onset of some form of autoimmune disorder occur after receiving the vaccination. I did my homework and called and found out that they had indeed used one of the two brands at the time, and I called the specialist I'd gone to for my ear problem that happened shortly after getting married, and I was into their office within a month or two of when I had the vaccination. The ONLY WAY I happened to know about that vaccination's having been proven in a court of law to be the cause of medical problems was I happened to watch 20/20 one night. I wasn't normally one to watch television on Friday evenings. 
 
I had an insightful, thought-provoking conversation with Alan Phillips, J.D., one of the US's top experts in vaccine law as it related to citizen's rights, who along with Debby Bruck, CHom (certified homeopath) are the most recent experts to agree to provide input for our continuing education together here at Lumigrate related to why it is that we're sometimes so slow to accept what is going on.
 
I was frankly admitting to being slow to come up to speed on seeing the realities that are now, I hope, being seen more accurately by me at this time, hence affecting who I ask to provide content and what I work on for new material. It's like any loss, with the period of denial, anger, etc., finally coming to 'acceptance', but I've always believed that people tend to, more or less, go back to the previous 'states'.
 
So I will confess here, that studying fluoride in 2012 to include on Lumigrate in the depth we did, with a combined effort of many experts providing topics, myself included, was what it took for me to accept how much gets 'buried' and covered up in the United States when it comes to health matters. How many people and organizations are involved, who knows.
 
What matters, in my mind is that we simply form our own opinions after becoming educated -- spend time and energy focusing on coming up with your conclusions for now -- and then act upon it in a way that is going to benefit you, or you and others. 

From: http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/resource-holistic-dentistry-durangocom-has-both-perspectives-about-flouride-fyi
 

In searching for information about public opinion about water fluoridation in Colorado, I found a wonderful website of what I believe is called a 'biologic dentist' in Durango, Colorado. I believe that 'our' holistic dentist at Lumigrate.com and in this effort locally, Jim Kennedy, knows him personally, but I want to verify that (so check back for a Comment from Dr Kennedy, below). I highly recommend you travel to Dr Rothchild's website and click on the flouride tab on the left side of the landing page; you will be given the option of seeing the 'conventional' information and the 'progressive' information he presents equally and is, therefore, leaving it up to YOU, the consumer to decide for yourself, without 'bias'. You know us at Lumigrate.com, it's all about YOU! See our landing page "You" model if you're not aware or need a reminder about our core belief in education and health care provision).

http://www.holisticdentistrydurango.com/index.cfm

And to get you encouraged further to go to see what he has to day, here's an excerpt of what his landing page has to offer

Medical research has proven that infections in your mouth can cause medical problems associated with other parts of your body including the heart, lungs, and brain. Our general dental practice is centered on this holistic philosophy: what happens in your mouth affects the rest of your body. As a result, while treating your oral health, we keep your total body in mind. We see patients of all ages, and practice all facets of dentistry including mercury-free fillings, metal-free crowns, extractions, and head and neck pain (TMJ).
 
 Thanks, in advance, to Drs Rothchild and Kennedy for 'contributing to the stream of information' on this topic.
 
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! ~~ Mardy
 
 
__________________

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!

Dr Jim Kennedy DDS's picture
Dr Jim Kennedy DDS
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User offline. Last seen 11 years 20 weeks ago.
The Dental Industry's Controversial Use of Fluoride

 

This was originally  From: http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/fluoride-dilemma and is presented here additionally due to it's content related to the dental industry in another similar and also controversial area to mercury, that of fluoride. 

"We would not purposely add arsenic to the water supply. And we would not purposely add lead. But we do add fluoride. The fact is that fluoride is more toxic than lead and just slightly less toxic than arsenic." This is a quote from Dr. John Yiamouyiannis, a PhD biochemist who wrote the book Fluoride The Aging Factor

Several years after graduating from dental school, I had the pleasure of taking a course from Dr. Yiamouyiannis. He was a brilliant man and thoroughly researched his material. After hearing the documentation presented against fluoride, it was obvious that it should never have been allowed to be put in the drinking water of cities around the world. America led the way in convincing the unsuspecting public that fluoride was needed to prevent tooth decay.

Dr. Yiamouyiannis did a study with Dr. Dean Burk, former Chief Chemist of the National Cancer Institute that showed there were 10,000 or more fluoridation-linked cancer deaths occurring yearly in the United States. In court cases in Pennsylvania and Illinois, this study stood up to the scrutiny of top experts who tried to refute the data. The judge from Illinois stated that there were no credible studies that showed that fluoridation is safe.

Being from Michigan, I can recall the first study that was done between two Michigan cities, Grand Rapids and Muskegon. Grand Rapids became the first city to add fluoride to the drinking water on January 25, 1945. Muskegon was to be the non-fluoridated control city. The study was originally planned to last 10 years. Five years after fluoridation began in Grand Rapids, it was observed that the tooth decay rate of non-fluoridated Muskegon was decreasing at about the same amount as that of Grand Rapids. Muskegon was dropped as the control city and the only report made was that the tooth decay rate in Grand Rapids decreased after fluoridation. Other factors had to be a part of the decrease in tooth decay in both cities. Changes in diet and nutrition as well as more people seeing a dentist resulting in improved dental hygiene could have been other reasons for the reduction in tooth decay.

Christopher Bryson wrote the book The Fluoride Deception, which tells another side of the story about why fluoridation of public drinking water was pushed on the American people. Fluoride is so potent a chemical that it is a grave environmental hazard and potential workplace poison. Its toxicity was recognized at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when, in the 1850s iron and copper factories discharged it into the air and poisoned plants, animals, and people in the surrounding areas. By the 1920's, rapid industrial growth had exacerbated the problems of industrial pollution, and fluoride was one of the biggest problems. Fluoride is a chemical byproduct (toxic waste) of the aluminum, phosphate, cement, steel, and nuclear weapons manufacturing industries and a substance toxic enough to be used as rat poison.

There was a twofold goal to adding fluoride to drinking water. One was to prevent lawsuits from starting and fines from being accessed to these industries, the second was to find a way to dispose of this highly toxic waste product. Fluoride had to be whitewashed and made to look harmless to the public.

The town of Hereford in Deaf Smith county, Texas was the town without a toothache. A story was fabricated by a local dentist, that it was the high, naturally-occurring fluoride in the water that resulted in the low level of tooth decay there. Further examination of the drinking water in Hereford has pointed to the high levels of other minerals (calcium, magnesium and phosphorus) that may be responsible for the lower level of tooth decay.

Colorado Springs, Colorado was another city that had unusually high levels of fluoride in its drinking water.  In the early years of the 20th Century, a young dentist named Frederick McKay settled in Colorado Springs. There, he discovered that as many as 90% of lifetime residents of the town had grotesque brown stains on their teeth, and that the tooth enamel had an irregular, mottled surface texture. Locals referred to the familiar condition as "Colorado Brown Stain", but no one had a clue as to its cause. Research later showed that fluoride was the cause of Colorado Brown Stain. This would appear to make the assumption made about fluoride in Hereford, Texas, less desirable as an addition to drinking water.

Bryson’s book tells the story of Phyllis Mullenix who, while working at the Forsyth Dental Center in Boston in the 1980s, made some unexpected discoveries about fluoride accumulation in the body. Her experiments with giving fluoridated drinking water to rats showed behavioral and neurotoxic effects. Pregnant rats gave birth to hyperactive offspring and the offspring, when given fluoridated water, had cognitive deficits (lowered IQ).

She presented this information to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1990 and nothing was done about further research on fluoride’s neurotoxic effects. The information was buried by the product/drug companies: Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and Smith-Kline Beecham. Mullenix’s promising research career was also over.

These are only some of the many detrimental facts known about fluoride. I encourage you to read the books and decide for yourself if you think fluoridated drinking water is safe to ingest. You can also visit Gary Null’s website for his research on fluoridation. The link to his article is: www.garynull.com/storage/pdfs/UpdatedFluoride.pdf.

It is time that we rethink the fluoridation of our drinking water here in Grand Junction and elsewhere.

James M. Kennedy, DDS

 Mardy's note: I am happy to report mid-summer 2012 that this was another step toward what has resulted in the group of four of us locally which named our group "SWIG: Safe Water is Great", we have prepared a logo, mission statement and story of the group, and we have set out navigating our way to educate people 'out there' -- locally and beyond.  The three medical providers in SWIG Grand Junction, Colorado created education on Lumigrate, and then I reached out to include two medical/science experts from Lumigrate who live "beyond Colorado" too (North Carolina and Dallas, Texas).

Dr McCloskey then took the key concepts from ALL our educational pieces here at Lumigrate, after we had thoroughly discussed things over our FUN and challenging dinner conversations, and prepared a 'organization/business-level statement letter' to be used as needed in the future. I volunteered to work that into a multi-purpose "statement and story" about SWIG to post here at Lumigrate for all who come to find it.  

Therefore, please follow this link to that 'key document' from our group efforts:

 www.lumigrate.com/forum/swig-safe-water-great-our-official-statement

...(and I am putting a similar note in each topic we have at Lumigrate about this fluoride and water safety issue -- we have a growing number of topics, please look around if you're wanting to learn more details about fluoride and the history, topically/in toothpaste, or how we went about each step!) ~~ Mardy

 
 
__________________

Dr Kennedy moved to Grand Junction in 2003 with his wife, Liz, a registered nurse.  Previously, he had practices in Detroit and Denver.  He has limited his dental practice to the treatment of TMJ dysfunction, dental orthopedics and orthodontics, and the fabrication of dental appliances for snoring and sleep apnea.  Office phone: 970/242-1900; Website: www.dentocranial.net

His pieces on Lumigrate can be found in the forum related to things of the head in the section related to chronic pain, fatigue and fibromyalgia at http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/head/.... Please also refer to The Cranial Academy for providers in your area who have similar treatment approaches at: http://www.cranialacademy.com/

Mardy Ross's picture
Mardy Ross
Title: LumiGRATE Poster - Top of the Totem Pole
Joined: Feb 16 2009
Posts: 2032
User offline. Last seen 44 weeks 14 hours ago.
From Mercola.com. Charlie Brown, J.D.: "Fill, Drill, and Bill."

 There is tons of information at Mercola.com about this, and what to do about it; I encourage you to take this link out to one of the topics I selected.

It's one of the newer ones (from perhaps 2011) and has a great graphic in it, as well as the video I'll report the highlights of, below. I learned a lot about the various industries that use mercury, then dental industry being among the biggest ones, and how the mercury ends up going into wastewater then out to our fresh water supply, where it then gets into fish which we consume.

They provide information about other ways of treating dental cavities and also, my favorite, how it just might be that some in the dental industry want this type of filling to continue because it leads to more money in the end for them. (This is something that is suspected by some related to fluoride as well, as it has been proven, allegedly, to create longer-term problems with teeth and bones, thus providing much for BigMedicine to address through our treatments.)

 articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/18/charlie-brown-on-movement-to-end-mercury-in-dentistry.aspx


My notes of the major things said in the video (and I hope my notes entice you to go to the link/website and also to watch the video: 

 
Dr Joe Mercola's studio is the backdrop for his discussion with Charlie Brown, J.D., Director of Consumers for Dental Choice, who was previously the Attorney General of West Virginia. Joe commends Charlie for his passion for justice and says he has a 'major white hat' in his efforts addressing one of the most potent toxins in our environment, mercury.  
 
Most people's major exposure is through their dental fillings. Charlie's been catalyzing the actions to remove it. Dr JM states he's a big proponent of free choice but having it be a neurotoxin is not good. 
 
What is the most shocking evidence you can present to us?, JM asks CB to start the interview. 
 
  1. Amalgam would be gone if consumers knew that it was mostly mercury. 77% of consumers said they would pay more to have a filling with something else, and this was before they were educated about the effects of mercury. 
  2. By the governments saying to dentists 'don't tell them anything', that has confused people and allowed the practice to continue because the dentists are being pressured or educated to uphold the use of amalgam.  The dental boards at the state level have told dentists "don't tell the patients about it ... " and threaten their licenses. 
So that is one of the things that we've done is to address that related to legally establish the right of dentists under the first amendment of the US constitution. So the word is now getting out more about this from that portion of people. 
 
So the hold up is the 'silver' filling deception, and people not realizing it's mercury involved.  
 
So many fields have 'where the money comes gets the result', and this is no exception. (Note, did you see at the top when I started this topic, I went into 'follow the money'... so I love to see this interview reinforce what I'd prepared earlier and prior to watching it!  That's a trick I teach medical consumers, keep looking at lots of information about various topics and opinions and when you see things that overlap or are identically stated, you might put the most stock in those, or start there; definitely take that into consideration when you see the same thing many diverse places.)
 
The FDA's hand-picked scientists urgently recommended to the FDA they mandate the end of using amalgams in pregnant women, children and sensitive people and that they had to get the information to the patients right away. And there has been no action.
 
They discussed how the panels and committees in Washington are often filled with industry people who have conflicts of interest related to things involved and Charlie said that the chairwoman was quite conflicted and is a consultant for a dental insurance company, but the rest of the panel was persuasive. So they were very impressed that within the FDA their scientists had recommended this step. And then it's even more interesting why it is they're not acting upon the advise of their scientific committee.
 
Right now the FDA won't do what it's own scientists have recommended.  WHY? Because it's difficult for an institution to admit it made a mistake. 
 
Charlie went on to say: We can win this by going the environmental route, or the consumer choice, and the insurance route. Consumer advocates encourage 'vote with your choices/your money'.
 
The environmental approach. 
The ADA is going to have to realize they'll have to cut something loose, they're going to have members threatening to drop memberships and etc, and it will be amalgam they'll drop.  They are going to the world treaty meetings and getting hammered by other countries' delegates -- saying basically "Don't think that you'll be able to sell it to us when the demand drops in the US, we don't want it".  And these are underdeveloped countries, not European! 
 
The question was asked by JM if there was an implied liability with lawsuits for damages. Class action lawsuits could total in the trillions of dollars. So if it is approached from the environmental angle, will it reduce their liability? 
 
CB relates that he went to the ADA almost a decade ago and suggested they declare themselves "good stewards of the environment" and are stopping amalgam for that reason. And they didn't do it. No. Why? Because the profits are so good using amalgam, was his opinion and explanation. 
 
"Drill, fill and bill." Dentists make more money / chair / day using amalgam because you can insert amalgam and fill a tooth faster than you can with a composite. It doesn't really cost more to do when it's small fillings, he said. The reason is: "It's the gift that keeps on giving for the dentist" because you take out more tooth material and damage the tooth more, requiring more dental work in the future. 
 
New in the US but having been used elsewhere in the developing world and with the WHO's approval, is ART. ART is a technique that costs 1/3-1/2 and can be done by less skilled people for small cavities. This can be done in the villages in Africa and India and so on, and for bigger cavities they still need to go to the dentist office. They use simple tools to clean out the decay and then put a product on the area, one without mercury. 
 
The WHO has repeatedly said it works. This potentially scares the dentists because they'll lose their monopoly. The look more powerful with all the big tools at the office. 
 
This lead to a discussion about the fear of teaching others what you know, that it will harm your income. Dr Mercola sees this in the natural medicine world -- "I gave it all away for free (information on his website) and people still came to see me because they wanted to hear it from me and have the personal attention."
 
But some providers will think if you tell people what you know you'll put yourself out of business. People can do their own simpler stuff and the experts keep making money on the bigger or more complex cases. 
 
The Environmental Angle for solving mercury in amalgam: 
 
In 2009, diplomates started meeting (in Nairobi), then Thailand -- five negotiation sessions in different parts of the world -- Africa, South America and by the fifth one in late 2013, the Japanese have asked to be the final meeting place where the treaty will be signed, at Minamata Bay, which is the site of the worst mercury concentrations and illnesses in recent history. They were very pleased with the Japanese for requesting this.
  The United Nation's Environmental website's coverage of it (Searched "Japan, 2013 treaty, mercury" -- search and find others you might like as well, there are many and this one is fascinating! .... www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx
 
CB founded The World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry and invited NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) from all over the world. Leaders from all over the world have joined to be a "coalition" where they contribute their time. It's multiracial, multiregional, and we are having an impact. 
 
The US dental organization joined and started attending and they're looking like they're saying "this is the way we've done it for 150 years and it's working just fine".  They come and tend to be all men, all white, not the diversity that the rest of the countries organizations have. (They laughed and also made a comment about what else would you want to not change since the time of the Civil War.... ). 
 
Charlie said their most disappointing country so far is Australia, and they've asked to not have amalgam in the treaty, so they had organized "like crazy" there (and he names the organizer and organization in Australia if anyone is intersted, look at the transcript or the video, I didn't catch it).  
 
By Nairobi at the third session, then we'll look at how, when and under what rules will we phase amalgam out. (Note, this third session would have occurred by now, this is a video from it appears 2010 or 2011 to me.)
 
Then after the treaty is signed, it has to be implemented and they'll have to oversee that phase, in all the countries. "I'm a lawyer, loopholes can kill ya'." Charlie said.  In democracies, such as ours, Congress has to implement it, which takes time. 
 
What do you suggest the average American can do? Joe asked, since this is going to be another four years for change to occur, that's the amount of time it takes for someone to go to college!
 
Charlie stated that since unborn children are being permanently damaged if not killed in the womb and this affects children so much, please get involved. 
 
Consumers for Dental Choice is his organization's name, and their website is www.ToxicTeeth.org.  
 
Sign up, get on their list, and they have ideas of what to do with the FDA, or other ideas for wherever you are in the world.  He invites you to email him at Charlie@toxicteeth.org. "Please join up, we need you, get in touch, no matter where you are on Planet Earth." 
 
What about having amalgams removed? Dr Mercola underscores IT IS ESSENTIAL to find a qualified biologic dentist. When he was in his 30s and found out about amalgam's effects, he went to a highly qualified dentist who simply wasn't familiar with the techniques and equipment needed to keep the mercury from being inhaled or absorbed by the patient during removal. (And his website has details about this, even on this topic that I have provided the link to which also has the video I'm 'reporting the highlights of'.) 
 
A powerful 'metaphor'/example that Joe liked, as it's hard to grasp the numbers because mercury is a REALLY potent poison:  a drop of mercury in a lake in the US would shut the lake down for having fish taken from it for consumption. 
 
For our future generations, these initiatives are so important. 
 
So what happens at the local level, and that includes and starts with the personal level is important, so people need to tell their family, their neighbors, and give each other the message 'don't let your dentist talk you into this'.  Do this everywhere, the office, the clubs, the churches, ... 'say this is a bad, bad thing' was their advise.  
 
It's not the dentist's decision and their mouth.  So don't let them talk them into amalgams. Ultimately YOU and your family are in control of your health. 
 
Dr Joe Mercola said that you can be drinking pure water, eating a good diet and sleeping well and it can be affecting your health greatly, so this is a major issue and is a real challenge to remove it from the body. An ounce of prevention is worth a TON of cure on this perhaps, he said. 
 
They end with a really nice closure and lots of appreciation showed, where Charlie also thanks Joe for education so many millions.
 
I second that, I am one, and now YOU are as well! I'd so far educated 35 people today with just the initial portion of this topic, between the time I posted it and came to add this on to reinforce from yet another source, this is 'the way of the future'. So Dr Oz, 60 Minutes, Joe Mercola, Mardy Ross, Jim Kennedy ... who else is saying it? I hope YOU. Share the link for this topic at Lumigrate if you like it, or one of the links we provide. Get the word out! 
 
Please also follow up with the link I've provided and really look at how you're spending your time and energy and money not only on this critical issue but overall as a consumer of EVERYTHING. It all adds up and counts!
 
Hopefully hearing or reading about the interview where Charlie Brown says "this is working, the consumers are making a difference, we just need to educate more" will fuel your enthusiasm to new levels and the power you have as a medical consumer. 

Note:
There is a link at the Mercola website for a transcript of the 23-24 minute discussion between Dr Mercola and Charlie Brown. I have paraphrased a lot and only captured as much as I could type notes of as I was watching it. It is such an enjoyable interview to hear these men talk with each other, I encourage you to pull up with it for at least a little bit of time.  

 

 

__________________

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!

Robin Thomas's picture
Robin Thomas
Title: LumiGRATE Poster - Top of the Totem Pole
Joined: Aug 21 2010
Posts: 94
User offline. Last seen 11 years 14 weeks ago.
Doctor Oz, Dave Wentz, and my input about mercury amalgam

Lots of great information here.  Thank you Mardy, and thank you Dr. Kennedy for your valuable insights.  Mardy posted on Facebook giving the "heads up" about a Dr. Oz show this past week. Although I don't always agree with Dr. Oz, it caught my attention for a couple of reasons, both personal and professional.  

As most of you know, I am affiliated with USANA Health Sciences. Dr. Myron Wentz, PhD in immunology and microbiology and founder of USANA, has always emphasized the dangers of mercury amalgam fillings.  He wrote about his concerns in 2004 in the book A Mouth Full of Poison .  This book is an essential resource for anyone concerned about their own and their family's exposure to mercury, with resulting long-term health problems. 

On the show's segment, Dr. Wentz' son, Dave Wentz, gave a short demonstration to the Dr. Oz audience on how easily mercury is released from amalgams merely through gentle brushing with a toothbrush.  You can see that portion of the Dr. Oz show HERE.  Be sure to watch the entire show for more information.  

Just for a fun background, Dave Wentz is not the scientist, his father is, but he is truely down to Earth. Having two young children of his own has made him extra aware of the environmental toxins that surround our daily lives.  Here is another clip from our USANA blog, What's Up USANA.  It gives us an honest representation of the likeable and enthusiastic Dave Wentz.  

USANA isn't all about selling products. It's about helping us all become healthier in all ways.  

I know that my son's life has benefited from the support and information I have received while affiliated with USANA.  We have been through a our own health journey, detoxing from heavy metals as well as prescription drugs (the ONLY reason I believe that my son had cavities, and thus amalgams).  While we are preparing to remove the amalgams, it is important to know that the act of removal can increase the release of mercury in a short period, unless done by the proper procedure.  

Be Well!

Robin

__________________

Robin started contributing to  Lumigrate in August 2010.  "Meet Robin Thomas", a topic in our biographies/vitae forum is at http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/meet-robin-thomas to read all about her journey, which was greatly influenced by the need to help solve her youngest son's significant health challenges. For those who want just the overview here: After working over 22 years in medical research at the University of North Carolina on chronic inflammatory diseases she switched her focus to preventive health in 2004 when she was introduced to USANA Health Sciences.   Robin is passionate about helping others improve their health, have more energy, manage their weight, and improve their skin. 

I love meeting new friends !

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"I dream of a world free from pain and suffering. I dream of a world free from disease. The USANA family will be the healthiest family on earth. Share my vision. Love life and live it to its fullest in happiness and health."

-Dr. Myron Wentz, Founder and Chairman, USANA Health Sciences

 

Dr Marc Spurlock MD's picture
Dr Marc Spurlock MD
Title: LumiGRATE Poster - Top of the Totem Pole
Joined: Feb 1 2010
Posts: 72
User offline. Last seen 10 years 33 weeks ago.
Mercury and "Load Theory"

This is important information for people to read. I want to provide the link to my most recent offering, about "Load Theory" and the many disorders which are caused by various burdens.

Please remember where you are here in the forums (see at the top, above my photo and the title, it'll start with Home on the left and the links to the right are the 'bread crumb trail' of what section and forum you're in now, if you're wanting to get back here and end up not being able to back up with your browser functionality, and go and visit the forum where I typically start new educational topics I provide at Lumigrate, at Mardy's invitation and support. This is the link to the one that dovetails with this great/GRATE mercury information: (I hope it is very helpful, I believe it will be!)

 www.lumigrate.com/forum/are-you-loaded-what-i-see-causing-illnesses-soar-children-through-elderly 

__________________

"There is no one to blame. There is simply taking action!"........Wm. Marcus Spurlock, MD Dr. Spurlock presently works in Dallas, TX treating people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Bio-Identical Hormone Deficiences and Environmental Illnesses. He has been doing this work exclusively for the last 9 years. In the fall of 2011 he opened a new health center; please visit his website, which is where he posts education beyond what is sprinkled at Lumigrate. http://www.renewedvitalitymd.com/ Through a total body approach, the treatments he and his team provide are 85-90% successful in returning patients to their previous health potential. You can see his complete vitae in Lumigrate's forum "About Our Writers" (link: http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/my-vitae-wm-marcus-spurlock-m...), and the majority of his contributions on Lumigrate are in the FMS/CFS/CPain section, where you'll see a forum which includes his name: http://www.lumigrate.com/forums/health-issuesdis-eases/fibro....

This forum is provided to allow members of Lumigrate to share information and ideas. Any recommendations made by forum members regarding medical treatments, medications, or procedures are not endorsed by Lumigrate or practitioners who serve as Lumigrate's medical experts.

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