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The use of mercury in dental fillings has its detractors and proponents, but some recent science has patients leaning towards alternatives ...

In what seems like something out of the Middle Ages, some of us in the "Camelot" generation are having the dental fillings in our teeth removed to ward off the potential effects of Alzheimer's and a host of other diseases, and the controversy has been invoking fury on both sides of the fence. What fence? That would be the issue of the mercury in dental fillings — that stuff called amalgam.

Mercury is one of the most toxic metals on earth. It has been used in amalgam in some form or another in dentistry for over a hundred years. Dozens of websites citing research wail about of the effects of amalgam in our teeth. Claims of "mercury poising" range from causing Alzheimer's disease to attention deficit disorder, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis — not to mention a host of other vague maladies like chronic fatigue syndrome.

The American Dental Association Holds Firm

For years, the American Dental Association (ADA) claimed that mercury does not leak out of amalgam, but in the early '80s, they officially stated that it does leak, but in quantities, they said, too small to be a health hazard. They remain firm that amalgam — an alloy of elemental mercury, silver, tin, copper and other metals — is safe. Their official statement comes from their website:

"While questions have arisen about the safety of dental amalgam relating to its mercury content, the major U.S. and international scientific and health bodies, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization, among others have been satisfied that dental amalgam is a safe, reliable and effective restorative material."

Ironically, the Environmental Protection Agency instructs dentists to treat mercury amalgam as a toxic material during handling.

Detractors Hold Their Ground, Too

Amongst the ongoing research is a report from University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine that found that exposure to mercury caused the formation of "neurofibrillar tangles," one of two diagnostic markers for Alzheimer's disease. For boomers, this is potentially scary news as getting Alzheimer's is top on the list of things that boomers fear.

Europe seems to be ahead of the curve, at least as far as erring on the side of caution. The European Union has commissioned two working groups to report back by the end of 2007 as to the effect of mercury amalgam and health, and some European countries have either banned or limited the use of mercury in dental fillings. David Kennedy, past president of The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, says, "Twenty years of funding Peer Scientific Research has produced a prodigious body of empirical evidence."

Get Informed and Talk to Your Dentist

So, what are the options? You can request that your dentist take out the amalgam and use a more benign type of filling. They are, after all, your teeth. If need be, print out some of the research and take it to him or her. Doctors (and labs) can test for mercury toxicity. Your dentist should be aware of the controversy that patients are facing and if they are not, get a new dentist. Options for amalgam replacement include composites, which are white, costly and less durable, ceramic, which is expensive and time-consuming, and gold.

Some of the signs of mercury toxicity in the body include:
• emotional instability
• shyness or timidity, being easily embarrassed
• loss of memory
• inability to concentrate
• lethargy/drowsiness
• insomnia
• numbness and tingling of hands, feet, fingers, toes, or lips
• muscle weakness progressing to paralysis
• ataxia
• tremors/trembling of hands, feet, lips, eyelids or tongue.

Obviously, not everyone experiences acute toxicity effects from the mercury in amalgam fillings, but many scientists say that that virtually everyone does have some mercury build up in their bodies from amalgam. Only more time will tell how much exposure to mercury is leaking into the systems of those with dental amalgam, but at least the population is becoming informed. Hopefully, red tape won't stand in the way of progressive governmental oversight, but that would be like believing in the tooth fairy.