Are Your Dental Fillings Safe?

Do you have dental fillings? Many individuals do. Dental fillings can cause a number of health issues. Amalgam fillings, the most commonly used type of filling, contain mercury. This substance can cause heavy metal poisoning in the body. The bottom line is, until those fillings are removed, the material in those fillings will continue to empty itself into your body. The result is a variety of health issues that sometimes are extremely difficult to diagnose and cannot be explained. However, care must be exercised in removal of fillings as the process itself can often make matters worse. Discuss your situation with a qualified health care practitioner. A mercury removal specialist is an good place to begin if you have concerns about dental work in your mouth.

While the human body does need trace amounts of certain metals for health function such as iron, copper, zinc,and selenium, others such as arsenic, mercury, lead, iron, cadmium, and aluminum are common metals that can be found in the body and which, at high levels, can cause health issues.

Since 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency has required dentists to treat amalgam fillings that are removed as hazardous waste. However, the various regulatory agencies as well as American Dental Association insist that putting “hazardous waste” in the mouth is safe.

Heavy metals cause problems in the body in the following ways:

1. Metals accumulate in various parts of the body and disrupt function in vital organs and glands such as the heart, brain, kidneys, bone, liver, etc.
2. These substances interrupt vital nutritional minerals from where they should be in the body to provide biological function. For example, enzymes are catalysts for virtually every biochemical reaction in all life-sustaining processes of metabolism. But instead of calcium being present in an enzyme reaction, lead or cadmium may be there in its place. Toxic metals can't fulfill the same role as the nutritional minerals, thus their presence becomes critically disruptive to enzyme activity.

The lifestyle you lead is most essential in protecting you from overload of metals in the body, or heavy metal toxicity. That includes diet, exercise, proper rest, stress management, and other factors included in your daily habits. Many people don't realize that exposure to metals is continuous and occurs over time - that these substances are found in everything from the water we drink to the air we breathe to the food we eat.

If you suspect you may have heavy metal issues, a visit to a qualified health care practitioner can help you to identify the problem and decide on a treatment. Detoxification activities are often very useful in alleviating symptoms and problems associated with heavy metal poisoning. Various methods to remove heavy metals include clay baths, oral chelation, infrared saunas, oxygen therapy (in conjunction with oral chelation), Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture, and homeopathic remedies.

For a comprehensive overview of heavy metals, visit Life Extension.