Are you walking around with a mouthful of silver amalgams? Would it surprise you to learn that 50% of that material is elemental mercury? Over the years, we’ve been taught to avoid handling mercury - mercury thermometers have been replaced with digital ones, pregnant women & children have been warned against eating too many fish - because they bioconcentrate organic mercury… even that red antiseptic that I so fondly remember from my youth has been banned… remember mercurochrome? So why do our fillings continue to be filled with mercury? And what can we do if we want it out of our mouths? And furthermore… if it’s out of our mouth, is it out of our body? Back with me today is Dr. Alvin Danenberg (http://drdanenberg.com/) - a periodontist who had his mercury fillings removed years ago. He is in the process of detoxing from mercury & other heavy metals and he’s agreed to talk to me about his experience. Al and I chat about how dental practitioners were trained to handle mercury amalgam, how elemental mercury vapor is toxic to us, (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3988285/pdf/jpmph-47-74.pdf) the things to consider when & if you opt to have the mercury removed from your mouth, how do you know how much mercury you have in your system, how can you detox from mercury and other heavy metals, and what that process looks like. The EPA has some resources online about elemental mercury (the kind of mercury in amalgam). Of note are the following quotes: ‘Dental amalgam fillings contain elemental mercury (http://www.epa.gov/teach/chem_summ/mercury_elem_summary.pdf) combined with other metals, and mercury exposure for pregnant women and children who have amalgam fillings have been studied. The number of amalgam fillings in women during pregnancy was significantly associated with mercury concentrations in neonatal hair, but not amniotic fluid.’ ‘Dental amalgam fillings that contain mercury are used by dentists for dental caries, although non-mercury alternatives are available. The American Dental Association advocates use of amalgam fillings, citing safety evaluations by several US agencies. Information about the safety of amalgam fillings has been reviewed and presented by the US EPA, US Center for Disease Control, and the US FDA. A US FDA Advisory Panel in 2006 expressed concern about a lack of knowledge concerning effects of amalgam use in pregnant women and children. Consult your dentist for more information and to discuss treatment options.’