Mercury is ranked 3rd on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry of most toxic elements and substances on this planet. Despite this fact around 50% of dental amalgam is mercury because it can bind to alloy particles making up the rest of the filling while contributing to the durability of the filling.
That mercury in dental amalgams can be released in the form of vapor and can be inhaled as well as absorbed by the lungs. Chronic exposure to mercury, even at low levels, has been shown to cause cardiovascular conditions, reproductive diseases, neurological conditions, and exposed pregnant women can bear children with birth defects.
University of Georgia research has found blood mercury levels of those with 8 dental fillings to be twice as high as those without, since close to 25% of Americans have 11+ fillings a large amount of people could be exposed to harmful mercury levels.
It’s not just patients getting dental work done that face risks of exposure either, dentists and staff are exposed to mercury vapors each and every time they have to handle the fillings. When people go to the dentist, some times they are in pain, or are going to have a procedure that they are expecting moderate discomfort from, they are not expecting a toxic substance to be placed in their mouth.
Mercury free dental fillings are now available, still not many have even heard of them. It does make one wonder why the public has not been made more informed on rather common and often necessary procedures, and why mercury free fillings have not been made the only option.
It is projected that close to three quarters of all worldwide deaths will be due to chronic diseases according to W.H.O. Dental work and continued use of mercury in dental fillings should be addressed by the proper authorities to help fight the increase in chronic conditions that have become a burden not only to the individual and their families, but to the community and healthcare system as well.
