News you won't see in controlled mainstream media.

Very happy to have found this wonderful forum and am greatly appreciative for any insights and assistance. Of course since coming here many questions have now been raised that I need answers for before proceeding.

My situation is that I've got 3 small to medium sized mercurm fillings to remove with no crowns. I also have 1 root canal with a gold cap and 3 other root canals with no mercury or any other metal inside of them.

I've gone to a dentist who is an IAMOT and have an appointment scheduled for this Wednesday who explained everything about mercury, heavy metals, etc. Then he suggested that I should have the 3 amalgams out, the gold cap taken off and the tooth pulled and then the 3 other root canal teeth pulled and a bridges put in.

So we're talking many thousands of dollars, etc. Being a conservative person I'd prefer to just have the amalgams out at this time and see how I feel. If I wait until I've got all the money and as important convince myself to have 4 teeth removed and go through all the agony it may very well never happen.

Based on what I've read on this forum the perfect world would be to have everything removed in 30 days then start chelating. I don't want to have everything removed at this time not can I. Will it make chelating more difficult or impossible after removing my 3 amalgams if I still have mercury sources in my teeth (the 4 root canals and gold cap)?

My main reason for removing the amalgams is to assist my treatment for candida and most importantly to relieve the burden on my ileocecal valve and immune system for being constantly bombaded by the mercury fumes.

When I decided to pursue having my mercury removed I thought it would be simple and easy. But with suggestions to read Huggins and Cutler's books it seems like you have to almost become a research scientist just to have a few mercuries removed. I'd prefer not to do a research thesis on this, I just want to get it done quickly and efficently but not have this become an obsession.

Would it be okay if I just had the 3 amalgams out to see how I feel then take care of the other teeth and gold cap at a later date? What are you thoughts?

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

James44:

Just my opinion, but if that is OK with your dentist, it sounds like a good plan to me. Make sure they use safe procedures, and you might even consider doing these in 2 trips depending on how close they are to each other. Mine were removed a couple at a time, and it seemed to work well.

The Cutler book is definitely worth reading though! One thing from this book is that you are really supposed to have ALL mcercury out before you chelate. My suggestion is to not be in a huge rush to chelate. It is a patience game. Your body will be naturally dumping toxins after your dental visit.

I would give you more advice, but I am probably not qualified, and besides, there are mercury geniuses here who probably will respond.

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TW

Hi James,

Welcome! Since you say you don't have any mercury in or under your root canaled teeth, and the only metal that would be remaining would be the Gold in that one tooth, based on what I know this sounds like a reasonable plan.

I don't know much about Gold though. And I honestly don't know about chelation with Gold. I don't know whether you were going to try and do some natural or formal chelation after mercury removal.

Knowing what I know now, I think getting those root canaled teeth extracted at some point, though, is the way to go. The fact that you wait until some time after your mercury removal should be ok, I would think. But this is a decision that needs to be made on an individual basis, I believe.

I had 17 mercury amalgams removed back in 2006. I had them removed all in one marathon session. Two weeks later I had my one root-canaled tooth extracted as well as another problem tooth that had no mercury but a crown and had become abcessed.

I handled everything ok with the exception of ending up with a monster sinus infection after removal of my root canaled tooth. I now know that was because I had undiagnosed adrenal exhaustion during this time as well as undiagnosed Lyme Disease and Lyme Co-Infections. My body just was dealing with so much, the extraction threw me over the edge.

Having said that though, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. My dentist felt that my root canaled tooth was causing more of a strain on my immune system then the mercury was.

I also have candida. And that, along with the hopes of getting rid of a chronic epstein barr virus, is the reason I did my health dental revision when I did.

It worked. Soon after my healthy dental revision my chronic epstein barr virus went into remission. The candida, however, still remains and probably won't go away until I do some sort of formal or applied chelation.

I hope this helps.

Sharon

Tumbleweed thanks for your reply. Sounds like the chelation is only for those who go all the way with the mercury removal. Maybe someday but guess I'll just have to stick with exercise, good diet, lots of water and a few other things to throw off the toxins.

Gosh Sharon 17 at once!! I've been trying to decide whether or not to do 3 in one session, now I feel like a wimp!

I have some information for you that could possible help your physical condition. In fact it may drastically help your situation. Best yet it doesn't cost anything and is easy to implement!

I've been battling with candida and its effect for years and never could get it under control even tho I starved almost to the point of Ghandi. In my quest for health I've tried a lot of things and read a lot like most people here probably have.

I finally discovered the ileocecal valve and how critical it is in the human body. If you aren't familiar it is a valve in between the small and large intestine. After your food is digested in the small intestive a properly working ileocecal valve will open allowing the digested food to move into the large intestine. However, they are finding that a large portion of the population have fault ileocecal valves due to poor diets, smoking, alcohol, mercury, etc.

So the valve either locks open or locks shut which causes all sorts of auto-immune problems in itself. When it locks open it even feeds the candida with the stuff backing up from the large intestine.

The way to bring it back to health by massaging it, using a cold pack at one, reflexing spots in the right foot with a golfball and other points in the body. When I started working in this valve a couple weeks later I felt incredibly better with so much more energy and my sinuses and candida problems were greatly reduced. There's 1 gentleman who wrote a book on this (costs $7.50) who details the problem and how best to massage, etc that I bought on Ebay. (Lent it to a friend but can't remember the name).

Hope this is helpful.

Hi James,

Glad you found this forum!

I think this dentist, being trained as he is in the proper procedures for biologic dentistry would now what he is talking about. if you can? Go with his advice, because root canals can be a source of the worst kind of potent concoction of toxicity, exceeding even amalgam.

Just as sosick on here! This also goes for those suffering from cavitation toxicity (ie, no doubt myself). Hal Huggins believes that those with cavitation illness are sicker than amalgam patients (this goes for root canals too).

The thing is, if your root canals are a part of what is going on, they will likely interfere wth your body's ability to detox the mercury. It's a two edged sword. As soon as I had a wisdom tooth removed, coincidentally? Apart from the viral infection I already had (which was bad enough) things REALLY spiralled down. No amount of efforts on my part during that time was really paying off. Strict diet for candida was probably about the only relief I gained in the end, but again I cannot heal properly.

Before that? I was getting proper detox reactions due to the mercury coming out of me. ONce I had the tooth removed? I was a gonner. Everything came to a stand still and after that? Chelation caused problems. Trying to fix one problem, whilst having another inteferring could end up with very bad results.

One wrong move and I would be devastated with long term reactions. So the tooth removal, may have resulted in a cavitation and then bacteria set in (like gangrene). This is only a possibility, because they are very hard to detect and are often hidden cavitations.

So removing the root canal is probably a very wise move. If you have a tooth removed, make sure the dentist removes the periodontal ligament as well as the tooth (leaving this behind is often a cause of cavitation development). Also request a non vaso constrictor local anaesthetic. Vaso constrictors are used to constrict blood flow to the area. This maybe helpful in some cases to numb the area for longer or more effectively, but is apparently a factor of encouraging cavitations or dead teeth. It inteferes wtih healthy blood circulation required for healing!

I'm sure your biologic dentist would know all this already, but confirm it with him. You want to make sure that everything will be done properly, because you are the one paying for this. He needs to listen to any concerns.

Removing the gold crown, root canals, amalgams, is all important on lessening the load on the immune system. As well as replacing the materials with a biocompatible one! I'm sure he will make sure you get a good replacement.

Keep up the good diet, it is really essential to help recovery. The best one I know of is one by Dr WEston Price. It is not just about "killing" candida, it is about denying it the foods it thrives on, plus building the immune system, so the body can take care of it itself. In fact killing it with antifungals can for some people result in toxic overload from what the yeast releases during aggressive killing. If the yeast contain metals, you can wind up acutely poisoned.

It is better to starve it out, whilst building yourself up with lots of protein foods (eggs, meats, organ meats) and good fats (like butter, olive oil, fish oil (mercury free) and avoiding the bad fats like canola oil etc) and lots of lower carb vegetables etc. Hal Huggins recommends the high protein diet too with butter. He feels this is helpful in healing mercury patients.

I believe it has helped me too under the circumstances, though my problems are pretty far reaching and go much further than anything can readily address. Gangrene is not something you can "cleanse out", if that is what is going on with me.

Anyway, best of luck with your dental work. It is of course up to you what you wish to do first and when you wish to do it. Also many of us are financially challenged too! So that does not help.

Don't take vitamin C within 24 hours of your dental work, as vitamin C makes novacaine less effective. Take plenty of vitamin C after the dental work is done. Just have the three amalgams replaced this visit. It is best not to do too much at one time. I would not be in a rush to have the root canaled teeth removed unless they are definely giving you a problem and are irreparable.

There is a vitamin protocol to take prior to getting them out. You probably needed to start a few weeks ago. Did you get your kidney and/or liver functionality checked? I'll post it tonight if no one beats me to it.

Here is a protocol (the whole enchilada) http://www.livingnetwork.co.za/healingnetwork/mercury_amalgam_removal.html

Doesn't mention too much about what to take prior but everyone seems to be in agreement that lots of C is needed afterwards.

I also believe Andy Cutler recommends chelating not too long after removal. The talks about the 6month organ dump which is made much less severe by chelating.

JK, thank you for the tip on the vitamin C. Unfortunately I'm so sensitive that I can't take any supplements. Hoping having the amalgams removed will greatly alleviate this condition.

Thank you for the protocol sregan, this is extremely helpful.

2 questions: How critical is it to not cross the meridian? I have 2 on the left side of my mouth and 1 on the right and was planning on having them all out tomorrow. It says it is better for your immune system if you don't but then again it isn't good for your immune system to go back a 2nd time, get anasthesia, have the stress, etc.

2) how critical is it to have the dentist test the charges of the teeth and do the highest charged tooth first?

1) Re crossing the meridian.

Don’t take the chance. There is a chance it will screw you up crossing the meridian and avoiding that pitfall is easy. It takes a long time to unscrewed afterwards. It’s as simple as booking a second appointment and asking the dentist to do what you want him to do. Just make sure the second appointment is not 7 or 14 or 21 days after the last amalgam removal. For the sake of 1 or 2 weeks why that the chance? You’ve had the amalgams in there for years anyway…another couple of weeks in yr mouth is no big deal for one amalgam. (maybe call him on the telephone before hand to discuss, which will make it easier tomorrow for the appointment.)

2) charges of the teeth? Hal Huggins talks about this a lot. He takes out the highest voltages reading amalgams first. i think it was just his experience after many many removals that this method caused the least problems. Not all dentists think this way, so it may or may not be a problem. Given enough time and planning I chose to have mine out in this order, from highest reading to the lowest. I guess I was lucky because the dentist I chose did this as standard.

But….what do you do now? I assume you want to go thought with it tomorrow……to get the show on the road….!

A lot will depend on your current health status. The healthier you are the better. If you are quite sick….then you should use extreme caution on removal and take as few chances as possible.

What I would do is have them removed in two appointments, one appointment per quadrant. I would get the biggest amalgam out first.

If the dentist does do the meter readings ,……then get the readings done….if not…I would get the biggest out first. that’s how mine worked….my biggest amalgams gave me the biggest readings (note: I a guessing here in this biggest thing…..so this is just an educated guess and feel free to shoot me down if you feel this is wrong.)

One thing to remember, whatever you do, however you do it, however safe you are …….. you will always get a dose of mercury upon removal. always, it is unavoidable, a nessessary evil.

Rubber dam and oxygen are the most important safety precautions of all and removal should NOT be done without them ever IMHO.

Good luck.

Sunshine, you give me real pause now as to whether or not I should have them all out tomorrow. Why is it tho that people have amalgams taken out all the time at traditional dentistsand no consideration is given to all this stuff and they seem to have no problems?

My mother was 70 years old and had her entire upper set of teeth taken out that were full with amalgams (probably around 10) and she didn't experience any significant health crisis. She's 85 now and sharper than a lot of people half her age.

Better to be safe than sorry, tho. Like you say once it is done there's no reversing the procedure, better do it right the first time.

Why not booking 7 or 14 or 21 days afterward? So you can book 8 or 15 or whatever just not multiples of 7?

Btw, don't you also get the same jolt of mercury when you have them put in?

Also, I've got 1 amalgam last tooth on left bottom, 1 amalgam last tooth left upper and 1 amalgam upper right 2nd tooth in from rear. Is that 3 separate quadrants or 2?

I agree with sunshine on the importance of the 7 day immune cycle. Good post sunshine!

Here is a link that Russ did on the 7 day Immune Cycle:

http://mercurytalk.com/wiki/index.php/Detoxing:Avoiding_The_Seven-Day_Immune_Cycle

And here is an article by dentist Hal Huggins on the importance of Appointment Scheduling in order to accommodate the 7 day immune cycle.

http://www.hugginsappliedhealing.com/articles_apptscheduling.php

Sharon

Hi James, the reason why your Grandmother had no problems was because she had her teeth removed, not the fillings.

Therefore, no drilling was involved. That means no exposure to mercury. Removing the tooth, does not disturb the amalgam at all. When they are drilling the amalgam out? that's when you're at risk and sometimes a huge risk if they are removing a load at once. Depending too on what kind of protection you are getting.

There is no point in getting a whole pile out at once, possibly exposing yourself to a lot of mercury vapor in the process and winding up more poisoned at the end of it. I am sure your dentist however will be providing full protection, but I still feel that full amalgam removal in one session is risking it.

Maybe 3-4 should be the limit. Some opt for two at a time.

James.

Evereyone is different and reacts differently to removal. Depends how mercury toxic you are. Depends how bad your current health is. But knowing that in advance is tricky…..so best to play it safe.

When I got 1 amalgam replaced, without protection, it totally screwed me up. totally screwed up my life. That was 1 year ago now and I’m finally getting better, but for 6 months it was hell. My life had to be radically changed to accommodate my screwed up health. After that I took it real easy with amalgam removal. One quadrant at a time. Each quadrant took 1 month to recover from. Upon removal I had nightmare symptoms for 4 days, then they repeated 7 days later and 14 days later and again 21 days later. That was will full protection and safe protocol and removal order. Each time the symptoms where slightly less, but still …… it was a bloody ‘mare.

I see people having problems with removal every week on these mercury forums.

If you are gonna remove the mercury you need to do it correctly first time around because you don’t get ANY second chances with this $hit. I’m sorry to scare you, but there is no need to take any chances.

You have 3 quadrants there. So ideally you should play it safe and have 3 appointments.

Have one out…see how you feel. If you feel fine get the next one out a few days later. If you feel fine…..then you can have all three quadrants done in 8-10 days. Just not 7/14/21 days after each removal.

I don’t know if your dentist uses a rubber dam and oxygen but…..i will repeat what I said earlier “Rubber dam and oxygen are the most important safety precautions of all and removal should NOT be done without them ever IMHO.”

The only reason you are hesitating is because it’s a pain in the arse to change the appointment and re-arrange the appointments. Cost will be the same. Its just hassle…I know…I rushed it and got hurt.

If you read “its all in your head” by Hal Huggins – all will be explained.

Good luck

The only reason I would suggest having two or more done at one session, is simply because the dentist is using local anaesthetic on you each time. This in itself is toxic too believe me.

So if you have one done and then another done at another appointment, and so on, you are getting a dose of anaesthetic each time and in pretty much the same area....

This is why my dentist wanted to take two out in each quadrant at once to cut down on appointments and anaesthetics.

But again that is up to you. I understand what you're saying sunshine, in regards to amalgam, but anaesthetic is also something one would want to limit too....it's a bit of a dilemma.

If the dentist numbs one quadrant area, and removes the two amalgams there at the same session, it'll save you having to have that same area numbed again the next time.

As for me? I had dental work done recently and I have no amalgams, but had composites redone in porcelain. I have been very sick just from the local anesthetics. I limited it as much as I could and only had two appointments. 4 teeth were done at each appointment.

Had I spaced this out more? I don't know how I would have coped, if I"m barely coping as it is. I realise I am more sensitive than some people might be, but I think it's a balance of limiting amalgam drilling exposure in one session, but also limiting ongoing anaesthetic exposure too with having too many appointments.

I would also space out your appointments too because eachtime you get dental work done, you need time to recover. Possibly a few weeks inbetween.

Best of luck with your appointment tomorrow,I hope it goes well for you!
I don't have anything much to add to all the wonderful posts from the others, but if you are nervous ,rescue remedy is great a few drops on the tongue half an hour or so before appointment.I find this stuff great,or just a few drops on the inside of your wrists.
I was nervous so I took magnesium to help me relax and used
natural progesterone cream on my neck,it's also great for men.
I was really sick after my first appointment (before I found this website,all their great advice made the second visit much smoother.

Top Tips,take some activated charcoal before & after visit,
cover up as much as possible during procedure and change clothes asap after,and wash all clothes you wore asap,and take a shower wash yourself from top to toe, to wash away any mercury vapour.
I was going to mention taking lots of vit C after but I think you mentioned you can't take supplements well at the moment,was that you?

Anyway I just really wanted to say Good Luck!

Thank you so much for all the feedback. I'm definitely now not going to get all 3 done tomorrow, 2 max. Maybe just 1 pending discussion with dentist. (He's probably going to think I'm a basket case. LOL)

Sharon and Sunshine I didn't know about the immune cycle, thank you very much for this information. I will schedule my appointments accordingly.

Bex, you mentioned you are changing your fillings out to composite. Why is that? The dentist was saying composite but is porcelain better?

Thanks sunshine for the kind words and the tip on activated charcoal. Where can I get some?

Hi James, in retrospect, I wonder why I bothered! Composites are cheaper and they can still last quite sometime. Porcelain lasts almost a lifetime, plus is harder and less likely to leach out its components. I guess porcelain is a good one to use if you have really big deep cavities and/or you want something that lasts pretty much most of your life.

I guess I felt it might be a worthwhile investment in the long term, considering many of my composites were old, shrinking and needed redoing (some were 13 years old, not bad eh?). I took the chance and thought perhaps some of my symptoms too might improve, in case I was not very compatible with composites...

but turns out, nothing has changed. If anything I am worse from the procedure, but I put that down to anaesthetic and possibly dental office mercury vapor exposure (from the daily drilling other people's teeth). Probably breathed that in while I was there.

I think some types of porcelain are better than others, just as some composites maybe better than others too. Still, it is very individual too. You can check with the dentist if he uses a good allround material that suits most people. You should be able to discuss all concerns with him/her.

Unfortunately, mercury makes a person more chemically sensitive too, so things you might not normally react to can become more of an issue. You can always find out what kind of materials your dentist uses if you wish to get testing done on them. Various tests can be done like serum testing, Voll testing etc. Cheek and gum test for oral reactions and/or noticing other reactions.

That is up to you should you wish to do that. I personally haven't noticed a darned bit of difference WHAT ones I had put in. My immunity is pretty stuffed due to infections, rather than anything else I believe.

Perhaps you could get ONE done on your initial visit and see how you feel over the next few weeks before getting the other ones done. You'll also feel pretty confident with the new material if you do ok during that time.

Bex, when we're feelling lousy I guess we'll try just about anything, huh? In the past I've bought all sorts of gizmos, supplements, and had some procedures down (colonics for example) in an effort to get healthy.

I always figure that even if something doesn't work I'm trying everything I can to get better and showing the courage and intestinal fortitude it takes to keep moving forward rather than ignoring the problem. I think we grow with each attempt we make to optimize our health.

Imo getting the amalgams replaced in two or 3 appointments spaced a few weeks apart (or even a month apart if you can tolerate the wait) makes sense. Getting novacaine in more than two quadrants in one day is not a good idea. If you are so chemically sensitive, then getting novacaine in more than one quadrant might make you feel very sick. There is also the mercury exposure, which will be overwhelming if all are done at once. if each quadrant is done a month apart, you body will detox quite a bit from the spike in mercury before your next exposure. I had 22 amalgams removed, and only have 3 left. I had them removed over a period of around a year.

JK, isn't the recommendation from Cutler and/or Huggins to get it all done in 30 days? Thought that is what I read from other posts but then again we all have to do what is practical and what works for us.

What are your thoughts/impressions on that?

In an ideal world you’d like to get them out asap. Trouble is it took me 1 month to recover from just getting 1 or 2 amalgams removed. No way on earth would I even consider getting amalgam removed when I still recovering from the last appointment….symptoms on top of symptoms…..a ‘mare….no way.

I know it must seem strange to hear us going on about all this pain and symptoms simply from getting a couple of filling changed…….but the reason we do is because it hurt so bloody much.

Took me 9 months of hell to remove my 8 amalgams. It was not helped by the first removal without safety protection.

Good luck today

Thanks for your input, Sunshine.

Who here feels better now that they got them removed?

I am feeling much better than I was a year ago. I had chronic fatigue syndrome for around 20 years. My energy level is much higher now than before I started having the amalgams removed. I was around 50 pounds overweight for a very long time. I tried so hard to lose weight. After the first 7 amalgams were removed, I lost 30 pounds quite rapidly without even really trying to lose weight. I love to walk. Before the amalgam removal I had many days when I could barely walk a few blocks. Some days I had trouble just walking to the bathroom. Now on most days I am able to walk a few miles a day. I have also had extreme chemical sensitivity. One whif of perfume, cigarette smoke, or diesel fumes might suddenly make me go from feeling pretty good to having muscle ache and inability to concentrate. After a while I might even had trouble breathing. I learned that I need to quickly move away from the souce of the irritant before the reaction got pretty bad. It is horrible to be feeling pretty good and attending an event with few people(I try to sit as far as possible from others) then suddenly someone with strong cologne or perfume sits near me and the symptoms start. I usually quickly try to find another seat, but sometimes at the next seat there is also someone near with strong perfume or cologne. At that point if there isn't a section of empty seats that I can relocate to, I might just leave. It is so annoying to have to leave an event when I don't want to. I usually avoid movie theaters for this reason, except for a rather empty afternoon showing. Those who wear perfume or cologne have no idea how much some others around them suffer from these toxic chemicals. I think my chemical sensitivity is decreasing. When I had my first amalgams replaced, I felt so nausious for a few days. It may have been from the mercury exposure, the novacaine, or perhaps some other chemicals the dentist used. I just had work done on one quadrant at a time then. Recently I once had dental work on two quadrants in a single session, and had almost no nausia after that.

My last amalgams are scheduled to be replaced by the end of this month. Three months after that I plan to do chelation with ALA and NAC. Hopefully this summer I will really be feeling great. Most of my amalgams were quite large and were replaced by lab made inlays or onlays. I am still amazed that I had 25 amalgams in my mouth, most of which were quite large.

Yup I’m getting better, slowly but surely. I have to work really hard at it though. I have to do lots of different things to get better. I am not suddenly miraculously healed, but I understand it does happen like that to some.

Sunshine and JK, glad you are feeling better and seeing results from your efforts.

Well, I went into the dentist and had 1 removed today. Took out the largest one on the upper left and decided to not cross the meridian as was suggested.

Question: Today is Wednesday, in following the 7-14-21 body cycle what would be the 7th day? Would it be next Tuesday if today is day 1?

In addition to not crossing the meridian I can see where only having 1 out on the first visit is a good idea. Go in and see how the doctor performs then decide what to do.

There's a couple things I don't know if I should be concerned about or not. He put the oxygen on my nose, that was good. We discussed the rubber dam and I decided to not use it. The link to the protocol suggested that it wasn't necessary and as the dentist also had a big thing that looked like an elephants trunk sucking the air right by my mouth not having the dam made more sense to me as if you have the rubber dam the fumes may detour up to your nose. Also, their water/suction tube had a small square at the end of it that they explained helps to contain the mercury vapors. Don't know if this is any extraordinary implement but it sounded good. LOL

Two things he did I'm not happy about in retrospect. Maybe some of you can chime in here as perhaps I'm overreacting. After finishing up drilling the 1 mercury out he and the technician didn't change out their gloves prior to clean-up. Also, they had some very significant suction equipment but didn't let me garble and then spit. When I asked them later they said the suction they use is sufficient.

They are very nice people and very accomodating and the dentist explained that everything he does is by IAOMT guidelines.

This fact relieves some of my concerns: Whenever I'm exposed to any kind of chemical or eat food that is toxic to my system I feel immediate discomfort/pain in my lower right abdomen. Eating fish with mercury causes a shooting pain. I felt no pain or discomfort whatsoever so I feel real good about that as it is a good indicator that I wasn't exposed.

What are your thoughts?

See how you feel tomorrow. The first few times I had amalgams removed I was very nauseous the next day. Take plenty of vitamin c and drink plenty of water.

Hey James, congrats on the first removal. Sounds like it went well. I'm sure things were ok, he sounds very confident in the methods he uses.

By the way, what dental materials did you get put in? Do you know the names of them?

Hey James, I hope everything goes well for your recovery. I'm planning on getting my first replacements done as well. It looks like it's going to cost a bundle (I live in N.Y.) for just two replacements (+consultation fees, x-rays, etc). How much did the single replacement cost you?

JK, I'm unable to take supplements due to sensitivities but am drinking lots of water and have an appointment today with the best massage therapist in the world. (she really is ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

So far so good, once the anasthesia wore off I haven't felt any different than any other day. That of course could change but I'm enjoying the moment.

Had a pretty good night's sleep without any crazy dreams, too.

Bex, he used a composite that had a combination of quarts, glass and porcelain. Sounded benign enough to me. May eventually go the route you did with the CEREC but at this point my main focus is getting rid of the mercury. Now I can't wait for the 2nd appointment to get rid of the other 2 !!

The reason why I wasn't overly concerned about any sensitivites to other substances is that if your immune system is significantly compromised already anything you put in will quickly develop an intolerance to the new substance anyways. But anything else pales in comparison to what mercury and other metals do to our intestinal system/organs, etc.

What did you initially replace your mercuries with before swapping out to the CEREC?

Congrats James. Well done for playing it safe, looks like you got a decent dentist and it’s cool that you feel normal after the event. Happy dayz!

Changing gloves…….doesn’t seem like a big issue, but I’m not the expert.
Gargle and spit………if it concerns you, just say on the next appointment that you’d like to do that.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/guitarrock.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like the material you got is probably just fine as is. There are many similar chemicals in all of them. Mercury seems to be the one to leach out more and build up in tissues and organs. It's accummulative, as well as one of the most toxic substances known to man. Plastics and porcelains have drawbacks, but there is not much alternative right now to amalgam. Some people however maybe very reactive to plastics and things (like sosick) and cannot have them in their mouth and may simply have to adjust their lifestyle around their amalgams and do the best they can.

If you do ok with the new materials, you'd be wise to stick with them.

The materials I had before cerec were a combination of ones. The top ones I remember were prisma composites with scotch bond.

Bottom ones. I know in two I had tetric ceram and they were later changed to filtek supreme with fuji bond. The two others I cannot quite recall, but the bond was "prime and bond".

So I've had quite a few differing ones. Reason being, the first dentist who did the top, I didn't go back to because he was not a biologic dentist and didn't use protection. The other dentist who did the bottom left didn't like using anaesthetic....(I didn't like pain) - hence I didn't go back to him. And the last were biologic dentists.

But because of my reactions following final removal and swallowing mercury, I was so ill that I didn't know what was causing what. Having different materials replaced, thinking they may have been incompatible did not really prove helpful. Even though I thought it might! Though for some it might be, my issues then were all mercury and final removal usually does cause a withdrawal and eruption of stored mercury can make your body go haywire. Sometimes the best way to find out is just getting one or two amalgams replaced first and then seeing how you go during that time. If you don't notice any real difference, (apart from possible reactin to the dental work), you can be pretty confident the new materials are most likely fine. Testing is a wise thing to do though for many of us, it may at least narrow things down more and give us an idea of what materials maybe a bit more suitable to us than others. Though it's not known how truly accurate these tests are.

But I finally and recently had my materials all redone, due to age and shrinkage and again the fact some showed incompatible on testing. But again, there really is no difference in my health. However, cerec at least will last a very long while and is probably a good long term investment. My problems now are more related to infections/virus and are proving much worse than I was with mercury (if that's even possible). I had already been healing nicely from mercury toxicity beforehand and was finally doing very well!

Bex, this entire situation with mercury is so frustrating and maddening as there's so many unknowns and too few answers. Not that I'm telling you and everyone else on here who has had the procedure anything new.

I considered doing the compatibility testing but it cost around $1,000 for the blood tests and I didn't want to make that kind of investment and even if I did I'm not sure how accurate it would be either and I didn't want to wait a week to 2 weeks for them to come back. I made an individual assesment that the amalgams were so toxic to me that getting them out was paramount. Judgment call, time will tell if it was right or wrong.

Reading up on electrodermal it sounds like it is a very iffy process as reports say that they've tested people via blood then double tested them on electrodermal and they are often different. Or they test them on electrodermal then send them back a few days later and the tests are all different. So as consumers what are we to think?

I'm assessing the performance of the dentist I used for the first amalgam and wonder how important the rubber dam actually is. Huggins says a lot of dentists don't use it and doesn't appear to push on that issue. But I called another mercury removal dentist and talked with the technician and she says they wouldn't work on a patient unless they agreed to use the rubber dam. But the same office that insists on the rubber dam doesn't use the the external oxygen !

The dentist whose website you pointed out had a heart problem that he thinks was caused by mercury and also his doctor won't let him go back to "practicing" so he only does consultations. He has the dentist who took my 1 amalgam out yesterday only come in on Wednesdays so I'd be violating the 7-14-21 rule. Asked the head guy about that today, he said the 7 isn't very crucial but the 14 would be.

Called yet another dentist today who was out for the rest of the week. Told his receptionist that I would fax a letter to them with questions about their removal protocol and also request info on what their fees are. May do that for a couple others too.

Btw, I think it would be helpful if the people on the board put together a nice form letter which newbies can send to dentists that has a checklist on protocol, concerns, asks for fees, etc. that could be faxed to the dentists as they initially start the process. Would've helped me a lot.

I usually am not anywhere near this vigiliant and making purchases or decisions. But like many people here we've had health situations and we all understand how crucial our heath is.

Bex, when you and others mention reactions you've had to the amalgam removals and the materials put in it makes me wonder. Could it be that you are reacting to all the supplements and chelation products, etc. that you are taking? Could the new materials be reacting to all the supplements? Some of the worst reactions that I've ever had have been in response to supplements not food, medicine, or anything else.

Hey Sunshine thanks for the words of encouragement, greatly appreciated !

Hi, I can understand that. Financially all the testing can wind up being as expensive, if not more than the procedures, plus as you said, the contradictions in answers are often ludicrous.

I had different testing done and had differing results sometimes too. The only way I did it was finding which materials seemed ok on most tests. But again, how accurate? Who knows.

I think if you're with a biologic dentist who practises the IAMOT, then he/she would likely be aware of some standard reliable materials that seem ok with most patients.

I don't know about the rubber dam. It was ironic that when the rubber dam was used on me in the last amalgam removals, the dentist and the assistant were more slack with suction and when they took the dam off, I swallowed all the amalgam that was still sitting in my mouth. So much for the dam. What a waste of time it ended up being, I was so ill from that removal that I drove home with tremors in my lips and tongue. I was white as a sheet and cried and had headaches for sometime after that. Even though the dentist covered herself by saying "don't worry about it, it'll just pass out of your system". yeah right! If that was the case, why did I get so immediately seriously sick which lasted a long time. Why too do they warn against swallowing mercury? One girl I heard about swallowed her amalgam and died. Why bother using suction? They know FULL WELL, it is not safe. But she was quite stunned it happened and dug herself out of it.

When I didn't have the dam, the dentist and the assistant were vigilant in using suction and more careful...I don't know what to think now. I think oxygen is more important personally because even with a dam, the mercury vapor can get through anything, plus go up the nasal cavity too. Maybe it's good if you can get it, but I had removals done earlier with no rubber dam and didn't notice much difference.

I think it also depends on how many you've having done too. I think personally breathing oxygen is a better bet. At least that way the air you breath is an alternative source, rather than having a dam over your mouth, yet still breathing all the vapor in anyway.

Both would be great though! So I don't know why they don't take that extra bit of precaution for the sake of the patient. I'd rather go overboard in those matters and do it all if I were the dentist.

But oxygen and suction and any other protection like eye goggles etc, sounds pretty good to me. Also, you're not having a load of them done in one session either.

I just don't see why you cannot have a rubber dam regardless...you're the one paying for it all. They're doing a service, they should cater to the extra wishes of the patient. Unfortunately it seems we're the ones trying to please THEM.

If you are happy with the dentist that did this job? I would try and go back to him. That way at least you know you'll be getting the same materials put in, rather than something different. It's not the best to get different materials in the same mouth. Though many contain similar ingredients, it still gives the body more to handle.

I know the 7-14-21 rule is the problem here... Is it possible to ask what materials he used? E.g. name of composite, name of bonding and lining material and if you go see someone else, you could ask them to use the same ones. Just a thought.

It depends whether the 7 day thing is such a big deal....what about after 21 days? Does it always continue to apply? Or does it eventually fade off?

I think it's a good idea what you suggested too. Perhaps there could be a standard letter that people here can print out and send or fax to their dentist. The ideal questions that we all wished we had asked! Maybe Russ might be interested in this too. Some kind of standard question form for would-be amalgam removal patients who wish to search for a dentist that can answer those questions in a way that gives peace of mind and trust that they are going to the right dentist.

Reputation also comes into it. Asking about a dentist on here is a good way too, you can find out from a few people who may know someone who went to them, or has seen them themselves. Usually you'll get a good idea, because fellow sufferers give the most honest answers.

I think this is a very good idea. I think too there should be a page that let's us know what answers to expect from the dentist before taking it further.

I though this link was excellent and also outlines what procedure they SHOULD follow with the highlighted words.

Here it is:
http://www.drhartmandentistry.com/Main/RemovingFillings.html

From this link, I put together a questionnaire for dentists and wondered what you guys thought? any changes or additions are welcome. But this is just an example. Russ may even put on up for everybody that can be printed out by would-be amalgam removers to send to any dentist of their choice, so they can see what responses they get before choosing which one to go to. Also asking others on here about a dentist is a good idea too in case anybody else has seen them before you.

Here it is:


To whom it may concern. I am considering undergoing the replacement of my existing amalgams. Would you mind answering a few questions for me regarding the protocol/s you follow for this procedure? This would be greatly appreciated.


1. What kind of precautions do you use to protect the patient from mercury exposure during amalgam removal?




2. Do you do any compatibility testing on the patient for replacement materials if the patient requires this, especially in cases of immune compromisation? If so, what kind? If not, would you recommend this and do you know of someone who does this kind of testing?




3. What composites/porcelains, bonding and lining materials do you use? and would you be willing to send a sample if required?




4. Do you use an air purification or filtration system to minimize mercury vapor in the dental office? If so, would you provide some detail.




5. Do you belong to any biological dental associations, such as the IAOMT?




6. Do you use an amalgam separator? Or what method do you use in removing the amalgams?




7. Do you use or recommend any particular dietry/supplementary protocol for the patient before, during and after amalgam removal? If so, what kind?




8. Can you give me at least a vague estimate on what you might typically charge for amalgam replacement? Whether small or large filling, an idea would be helpful. I understand the need for consultation to give an exact cost layout, but an idea at this stage would also be appreciated if possible.



Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. For me this is a very important health decision and one that I do not wish to rush into without doing some prior homework first.


Kind regards,

Putting myself in the dentist's position, they do mercury extractions all the time and if they are healthy people after a while they probably think there really isn't any big deal. They are exposed to it all the time and are healthy. We're in there for 1 or maybe a few lousy procedures and we're worried about it which probably annoys them. They become lax.

I haven't been on the forum here long but am continually trying to place things in perspective. Probably a lot of people come through here, gain a lot of information, have the procedure done then if they have no problems they move on. But the people who stay here the longest are individuals who are having problems and need additional answers, support, etc. So things appear skewed that there's a high percentage of problems. Plus, when you're having a lot of health problems to begin with an individual is very sensitive and every step of the procedure being done to precise standards becomes critical.

The massage therapist I went to today said she had 1 amalgam in nearly every single tooth removed 6 years ago, had no oxygen and from what it sounds like other protocols not followed. Yet she's one of the healthiest, maybe the healthiest person I know and she's almost 50.

Sorry to hear about the rubber dam situation you experienced. You do everything you should do, are vigilant about your health and something STILL happens.

With dental and any medical doctors if you go somewhere else they are by law obligated to forward all your records to the new dentist/doctor. All you do is sign a release at the office of the new dentist/doctor and they contact your old dentist/doctor who then forwards your records.

You've given me some peace of my mind regarding the rubber dam. Much thanks. The bottom line is that he asked me if he wanted me to use it and after discussing it I said no. So in reality it was my fault. He'll do rubber dam AND oxygen if I ask. But as you said you used the rubber dam and they messed up and you swallowed the stuff anyway. Sounds like it is clumsy for them to use and can get in the way.

I'll have to do more research on the 7-14-21 and make a decision. Ideally I stay with the same guy but if it is necessary to go elsewhere then that is an option.

Anyone here use any dentists in Atlanta, Georgia or surrounding areas ?

Yes, this is true. Because they can handle the exposure, our concerns can seem exaggerated or possibly even neurotic to some of them and it makes it hard to ask questions because you feel like you're just going to annoy them....you don't want them grinding their teeth whilst their working on yours <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

However, if I find that a dentist becomes too easily irritated or refusals to answer certain questions, I often move on. This is a strong indicator that he/she is not taking my concerns seriously enough, probably doesn't take the mercury issue seriously enough or isn't willing to take the time and effort to answer and comply with my concerns. We are their employers in a sense, we pay them, they serve us. Why so often is it us being afraid to offend or irritate them? It should really be the other way around.

The massage therapist probably had a stronger constitution towards mercury and was able to handle the extra exposure during removals. Because some have had disastrous results from slap dash amalgam removal. She is lucky it worked out so well. I seemed "ok" too at the time, but I was also following a good diet, plus did not have the immune issues i have these days. My one big problem was mercury.

I didn't notice any real issues with removals at the time. I had no protection during most of them too. However, once there were no more left, if you've got enough backload of mercury stored up, you can be hit with symptoms later down the road as it tries to offload. Not pleasant and something that requires a good, safe effective protocol to handle and eliminate.

Did the massage therapist have health problems before removal? Or did she go through with it for preventative measures? Because this too could be another reason why she came through it ok. Also did she use any chelation/detox protocols?

lol yeah, the very last removal, the one where I had a biologic dentist using all protective measures and she goes and let's me swallow the amalgam. So her removal wound up being the one that made me most ill....yet I would have thought vapor exposure would have been worse than swallowing solid amalgam pieces...? So I cannot figure that one out.

Well, at least your dentist gave you the option of the rubber dam. So you could request it if you feel it might be extra helpful. I haven't made my mind up about it yet.

Yeah ideally you'd be wise to stick to the same dentist. But it's the immune cycle that is a concern. Does the immune cycle still apply after the 21 days are up? If not, you could always wait it out before getting the last two replaced! It would also give your body a good break in the meantime.

By the way, check out my post above, I think ours crossed in posting! Tell me what you think.

I hope this link here might help in your search for a dentist in your area, should you require going to someone else.
http://www.holisticdentalnetwork.com/directory_splash.php and you can also find complimentary physicians there too if you need one.

Cheers.

I felt so sick the days after my first three replacement sessions. After that though I started getting gum infections soon after a removal session. I think it was probably candida. The last few times I was prepared, and took antifungals before and for many days after the removal session. The gum infections still occured, but they were much less severe. I think that taking antifungals before and for at least a few weeks after amalgam replacement is a prudent move.

$1000 – wow!

I paid £40 ($80) for my teeth to be muscle tested for compatibility. I got a second opinion for another £40. tested 50 different dental products. 30 I was fine, 20 I was not fine. But I guess muscle testing is too weird and too cheap to be considered as uselful! Maybe ask your dentist if he knows about this? Its officially called “Applied Kinesiology” or AK. Google it. Its not failsafe, but neither are $1000 lab tests (once you learn how they do them!)

If what you have already got is ok….stick with that

“he said the 7 isn't very crucial but the 14 would be.” – well 7 days was crucial for me, but everyone is different.