Re; The History of Mercury Amalgam
Jan
Too long to post, but read it all, the last of this post is very interesting.
Jan
Health Issues In The News
The Mercury Papers
by Stephen Macallan, MBAcC, MAMH
(The Most Expensive Medical Mistake in The History of The World)
The History of Mercury Amalgam
In the early 1800s French dentists successfully (sic) mixed mercury with other
metals and plugged the mixture into cavities in teeth. These early mixtures
contained relatively small amounts of mercury and required heat to enable the
metals to bind together. In 1819 Benjamin Bell in England developed an amalgam
mix with much
more mercury in it that enabled the metals to bind at room temperature. Back in
France in 1826 Taveau produced a similar formulation and then in the 1830's the
amalgam concept was introduced in America. Many American dentists denounced
amalgam use on account of the toxic nature of mercury and when the American
Society of Dental Surgeons was formed in 1840 its' members were required to
sign a pledge never to use mercury amalgam on account of its great toxicity.
The pledge
was abandoned within five years! (Curious historical note No1. Quick silver is
a common name for mercury, both here and in Germany, and the 'quick' in German
is pronounced quack, thus amalgam-using dentists became known as quacks - a
term
which has come to mean an inept and fraudulent medic - perhaps amalgam-using
dentists should still be called quacks).
In 1848 the Society found 11 of its' members guilty of "..malpractice...for
using amalgam.." and suspended them. The arguments raged on, then, as now,
until finally the god won - money that is, and the A.S.D.S. dissolved in chaos
in 1856. There was a lot of profit in amalgam fillings, cheap to make and easy
to use, compared with gold, expensive and technically more difficult. The
American Dental Association took its' place and cunningly, did not take a stand
on the amalgam issue, allowing market forces to prevail until about 1895. The
Encyclopaedia Britannica reports "that amalgams were not altogether in good
repute until after 1895", by which time the A.D.A. was supporting the use of
amalgam.
In the U.K. there was never an issue about amalgam use until recent years when
Jack Levenson, now president of the British Society for Mercury Free Dentistry
took up the issue. Jack Levenson is firmly rooted in orthodox medicine/science
and is not supportive of alternative medics involving themselves with the
issue. This fact coupled with British conservatism means that the mercury issue
hasn't received much public airing in this country. Nonetheless, like mercury
itself, information has leaked out and many people have heard that amalgam
fillings may be a problem. In turn, this has led to people having their
amalgams removed willy-nilly, without following any of the protocols detailed
below, and consequently many become even more ill or at least do not get any
better, leading, typically, to a situation
that I experienced last year. One of my patients had been confirmed by John
Morley (expert Vega-tester, details below) to be Mercury toxic and the patient
requested that I talk to his dental consultant. I reluctantly telephoned the
consultant at The Manchester Dental Hospital and the conversation, difficult
enough in the face of her hostility from the start, ended when she yelled at me
that because of quacks like me she was seeing all these people who had paid to
have their fillings removed and
they weren't getting any bloody better!!
In 1993 a desperately poorly lady turned up at my clinic, with a bad mercury
toxicity - she had suspected that mercury was her problem, had had all her
filled teeth pulled out five years earlier and was no better! We are now 6
years down the road, she is still mercury toxic, and her health only somewhat
better. I know that the recommended safety protocols were not followed and can
only assume that this is the reason for her poor recovery - all my patients
that have followed the safety protocols have improved their health picture,
albeit by varying amounts. Money and ease of use was the issue in the beginning
and it still is today - a recent article in a U.K. dental journal compared
average costs for a dental filling for an average person through an average
life thus: Amalgam £75.00 Gold £175.00 White material £350.00 Amalgam for
dental fillings is an idiot-proof technique and the insertion of white fillings
is demanding in terms of time, equipment and technical ability. White fillings
also have a reputation for not lasting and causing problems, but dental
technique and equipment is the issue here -
a recent survey by a white filling material manufacturer discovered that,
nationwide, 50% of the light guns used to 'cure' or set commonly used white
resinous materials were not working well enough to do the job properly.
The extra cost of white filling materials derives partly from more replacements
of fillings as they deteriorate, but the bulk of the cost is in the technical
equipment and the maintenance of that equipment and practitioner training. As
time passes and the technology develops, white filling materials are improving
and are lasting longer and will soon be as durable as amalgam (Ed: some now
are), though I suspect that the technique of filling teeth, other than with
amalgam, will always be more demanding. Curious historical note number 2: The
Incas filled cavities in teeth, and their chosen material and procedures seem
better than anything used in modern times, in terms of effectiveness and
durability. Their chosen material was mother-of-pearl, powdered and mixed with
patients own blood, this created a dental filling material which did not just
fill the cavity, but, being 100% organic and bio-compatible, it merged
seamlessly with, and became one with, the existing tooth and thus appears to be
the perfect material, though the sterile procedures required today would pose a
few difficulties in using it now. Nonetheless a group of French researchers are
investigating this material, with a view to using it not just in dentistry but
also in prosthetics.
Modern amalgams contain 43% to 54% Mercury, the balance being made up of
copper, silver, tin and zinc. An average filling weighs 1 gram, of which 1/2
gram is mercury, and a typical adult will have perhaps ten fillings with a
total of about 5 grams of mercury. Not a lot perhaps, but 1/2 gram in a ten
acre lake and the U.S. government would issue warnings about eating the fish
from that lake.
Bearing in mind the official British Dental Association stance that the mercury
in amalgam is 'locked in' and inert, why is it that old fillings can contain as
little as 10% mercury. Where has the other 40% gone? The B.D.A. are very quiet
about this fact.
Mercury is one of the most toxic materials in the world - the well-respected
toxicity centre at the University of Tennessee which rates poisons for their
lethal toxicity to humans, scores mercury at 1600, compared to plutonium, the
most deadly, at 1900. WHAT'S THE PROBLEM THEN? Throughout the history of
dentistry
there have been researchers who have called attention to the dangers of
mercury, most notably a German Chemist named Dr. Alfred Stock who came to
suspect, in the 1920s that his fillings were the cause of much of his poor
health. He had them
removed and Lo! his health improved. His researches enabled him to identify
environmental toxicity at levels as low as 2 micrograms per cubic meter in
1939, while in 1969 Dr. I.M.Trakhtenberg, Ph.D. of Russia found problems at 1
microgram per cubic metre!
Reflect on the fact that the average mouth with ten amalgam fillings will give
off anywhere from 20 to 200 mcg of mercury vapour per minute. Dr. Stock
published numerous articles prior to W.W.2. but he was ignored and many of his
papers were
conveniently lost during the War years. Conveniently lost? For the last 9 years
a group of American dentists have pursued a class action suit against the
American Dental Association alleging 'Breach of Contract', in the sum of
several million dollars. When a dentist joins the A.D.A. the organisation
enters into a contract with him. One such contractual obligation is to provide
scrupulously accurate, full and pertinent information within the field of
dentistry. The class action alleges that the A.D.A. has failed to provide
accurate and truthful information pertaining to mercury amalgam fillings, but
instead has provided misinformation, knowing that it was inaccurate, false, or
materially misleading and incomplete. It is believed that the A.D.A. holds
information, in secret files, that detail the toxic nature of mercury amalgam.
The dentists do not want the money, they want the papers and the research. What
is the A.D.A. response? They have used legal manoeuvres to keep it out of court
and the case has now been adjourned sine die - indefinitely. Meanwhile the
A.D.A. has agreed to fund research. To date there are over 12,000 papers
investigating
mercury amalgam, the majority indicating either that there is, or that there
may be, some hazard with dental use, a minority indicate no provable risk
factor, there are none proving safety. The party line of the A.D.A. and the
British Dental Association
is that the mercury becomes 'locked-in' when mixed with the other metals and is
thus inert. However in the 1980s the A.D.A. devised a list of recommended
procedures for handling amalgam 'scrap'. 'Scrap' is the part of the filling
material left over when
a dental filling has been placed. The "INERT" scrap is considered so dangerous
that the following procedures are recommended:
1) Store mercury in unbreakable, tightly sealed containers.
2) Perform all operations involving mercury over areas that have impervious and
suitably lipped surfaces so as to confine and facilitate recovery of spilled
mercury or amalgam.
3) Clean up any spilled mercury immediately. Droplets may be picked up with
narrow
tubing connected to the low volume aspirator of the dental unit.
4) Use tightly closed capsules during amalgamation (while it is being mixed).
5) Use a no touch technique for handling the amalgam.
6) Salvage all amalgam scrap and store it under water.
7) Work in well ventilated spaces
8) Avoid carpeting dental surgery, as decontamination is not possible.
9) Eliminate the use of mercury-containing solutions.
10) Avoid heating mercury or amalgam.
11) Use water spray and suction when grinding dental amalgam.
12) Use conventional dental amalgam compacting procedures, manual and
mechanical, but do not use ultra-sonic amalgam condensers.
13) Perform yearly mercury determinations on all personnel regularly employed
in dental offices.
14) Have periodic mercury vapour level determinations made.
15) Alert all personnel involved in handling mercury, especially during
training or indoctrination periods, of the potential hazard of mercury vapour
and the necessity for observing good mercury hygiene practices. Since scrap
amalgam is the other half of the amalgam that is placed in your mouth then
these same recommendations should apply to your mouth. Let's see:
1) Use a no touch technique (keep your tongue, teeth and gums from touching
your fillings).
2) Store in an unbreakable, tightly sealed container (put your head in an
airtight box and keep it there).
3) Store the amalgam under water (store the airtight box under water)
4) Work in well ventilated spaces (keep air circulating through your mouth). In
other words if you have any amalgam filling in your mouth you must keep air
circulating through your mouth, whilst keeping your tongue teeth and gums from
touching the amalgam, with your head in an unbreakable sealed box and the whole
box submerged in water!
Numerous studies demonstrate that mercury vapours are continually released from
the fillings, more so when drinking, or chewing food and even more so with hot
or acidic food and drink. Our family dentist has a machine which can measure
the mercury vapour released from the fillings and he recently recorded 200 mcg.
of mercury vapour released in 30 seconds on one of our mutual patients. When
you consider that Health & Safety Department rules stipulate a maximum of 10
mcg/m3 for a maximum of 8 hours out of 24 for long-term exposure this man was
walking around with an amount of mercury vapour in his mouth far in excess of
the amount allowed in a building, and if a building did have that amount than
people would not be allowed in it and the owner would be fined! He could be
making every room he enters a Health and Safety hazard. In addition, the metals
corrode producing a cocktail of at least 16 toxic compounds floating around the
body and nobody knows anything at all about the consequences of having 15 of
these in a human body. One of these compounds is methyl mercury which is
considered to be 100 times more toxic than mercury.
Finally there are the galvanic currents. Galvanic currents are electrical
charges originating in the metal fillings - heavy metal (mercury) and salt
water (saliva)
equals a battery, so that each amalgam filled tooth produces a small current of
electricity. This current can be measured in millivolts or microamperes.
Several fillings mean that the mouth becomes 'live' with electrical voltages.
These voltages establish circuits which are constant and a person lives with
them and does not notice them - except! - chew some silver paper and see what
happens! The silver paper disrupts the established circuits and new circuits
are rapidly formed, broken and reformed and discomfort is experienced. The pain
from biting on a filling with silver paper is an electric shock.
Many people experience static electricity problems and it is commonly assumed
that the current jumps from the car/filing cabinet/etc to the person but it
actually happens the other way around - the teeth batteries produce the current
which builds in the body and goes to ground on contact with a good conductor,
jolting the body. In my experience everyone who suffers with problems with
static electricity finds that after the amalgams are removed this problem goes
away completely. So, what's a little static jolt now and again, other than a
little nuisance?
Consider : the body is 70% water which is a good conductor of electricity, this
means that the electrical disturbance originating in the mouth is dispersed
throughout the entire body.
*****Consider : the central and peripheral nervous systems function on
electricity, even cellular metabolism functions on electricity - this means
that all central and peripheral nervous system activity and cellular metabolism
will be affected by the batteries and electric currents in your mouth. Science
to date has not investigated this area very much, but there are notions that if
the current is over 3 microamperes or 100 millivolts, then treatment is
recommended. My wholistic sense tells me that any microamperes or millivolts
are bad news. There has been some research on patients with symptoms of Bell's
palsy, tinnitus, vision disturbance, chronic headaches, trigeminal neuralgia,
idiopathic neuromuscular pathologies of head and neck, bruxism and severe
depression. When the amalgam was removed the abnormal electrical potential
within the dental restoration was no longer negatively influencing the nerve.
The nerve returned to its normal state and the symptoms went away. It's pretty
bad already but let's add computers, mobile phones, overhead power cables,
microwave ovens and fridges - an assortment of sources of electro-magnetic
waves which assault our bodies. If we are already 'live' then these things will
add a sort of induced voltage, upping the amount of electrical disturbance by
some unknown factor.****
Read on, there's more.
Peter Bowditch
>The pledge
>was abandoned within five years! (Curious historical note No1. Quick silver is
>a common name for mercury, both here and in Germany, and the 'quick' in German
>is pronounced quack, thus amalgam-using dentists became known as quacks - a
>term
>which has come to mean an inept and fraudulent medic - perhaps amalgam-using
>dentists should still be called quacks).
How long has it been since I pointed out to Jan that the use of the
word "quack" to mean "an inept and fraudulent medic" predated the use
of amalgam fillings by at least 200 years?
Has it been two weeks? Maybe as long as three weeks?
The fact that she repeats this when she knows it not to be the truth
just indicates that when it comes to discussing amalgam fillings, Jan
does not care about the truth.
--
Peter Bowditch pet...@ratbags.com
Mad - Quintessence of the Loon http://www.ratbags.com/loon
Bad - The Millenium Project http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles
Sad - Full Canvas Jacket http://www.ratbags.com/ranters
Captain Odontologie
"Jan" <jdrew...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020508231339...@mb-fd.aol.com...
Hi Janet,
Is this entire posting cut and paste, or did you write any of the above
texts?
Captn. O
Jan
>From: Peter Bowditch pet...@ratbags.com
>Date: 5/9/02 5:06 AM Pacific Daylight Time
>Message-id: <qapkduguddje8s1g0...@4ax.com>
What pledge Peter, nd why was it abondoned?
(Curious historical note No1. Quick silver
>is
>>a common name for mercury, both here and in Germany, and the 'quick' in
>German
>>is pronounced quack, thus amalgam-using dentists became known as quacks - a
>>term
>>which has come to mean an inept and fraudulent medic - perhaps amalgam-using
>>dentists should still be called quacks).
>
>How long has it been since I pointed out to Jan that the use of the
>word "quack" to mean "an inept and fraudulent medic" predated the use
>of amalgam fillings by at least 200 years?
As I pointed out, it matters not if it was predated. The word quack was used in
Germany in the description above.
>Has it been two weeks? Maybe as long as three weeks?
>
>The fact that she repeats this when she knows it not to be the truth
Wrong, Peter. Who cares if it was used or how it was used before the birth of
amalgams? In Germany it was used as the above description.
>just indicates that when it comes to discussing amalgam fillings, Jan
>does not care about the truth.
That quite an assumption. False, I might add. I happen to know the truth
because I experienced the suffering from them.
Now that you have made this claim that Germany never used the word quack in
relation to mercury amalgams, it is up to you to prove it.
And speaking of the truth Peter, you have never posted your proof of you other
lies on MHA. I suspect this is why you are making such a big deal over this.
And did you read on?
How about this?
In 1848 the Society found 11 of its' members guilty of "..malpractice...for
using amalgam.." and suspended them.
Did this happen, Peter?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica reports "that amalgams were not altogether in good
repute until after 1895", by which time the A.D.A. was supporting the use of
amalgam.
And this is when this changed,,,,,,,,AFTER the ADA started supporting them??
Modern amalgams contain 43% to 54% Mercury, the balance being made up of
copper, silver, tin and zinc. An average filling weighs 1 gram, of which 1/2
gram is mercury, and a typical adult will have perhaps ten fillings with a
total of about 5 grams of mercury. Not a lot perhaps, but 1/2 gram in a ten
acre lake and the U.S. government would issue warnings about eating the fish
from that lake.
No comment Peter?
Mercury is one of the most toxic materials in the world - the well-respected
toxicity centre at the University of Tennessee which rates poisons for their
lethal toxicity to humans, scores mercury at 1600, compared to plutonium, the
most deadly, at 1900. WHAT'S THE PROBLEM THEN? Throughout the history of
dentistry
there have been researchers who have called attention to the dangers of
mercury, most notably a German Chemist named Dr. Alfred Stock who came to
suspect, in the 1920s that his fillings were the cause of much of his poor
health. He had them
removed and Lo! his health improved. His researches enabled him to identify
environmental toxicity at levels as low as 2 micrograms per cubic meter in
1939, while in 1969 Dr. I.M.Trakhtenberg, Ph.D. of Russia found problems at 1
microgram per cubic metre!
Consider : the central and peripheral nervous systems function on electricity,
even cellular metabolism functions on electricity - this means that all central
and peripheral nervous system activity and cellular metabolism will be affected
by the batteries and electric currents in your mouth. Science to date has not
investigated this area very much, but there are notions that if the current is
over 3 microamperes or 100 millivolts, then treatment is recommended. My
wholistic sense tells me that any microamperes or millivolts are bad news.
There has been some research on patients with symptoms of Bell's palsy,
tinnitus, vision disturbance, chronic headaches, trigeminal neuralgia,
idiopathic neuromuscular pathologies of head and neck, bruxism and severe
depression. When the amalgam was removed the abnormal electrical potential
within the dental restoration was no longer negatively influencing the nerve.
The nerve returned to its normal state and the symptoms went away. It's pretty
bad already but let's add computers, mobile phones, overhead power cables,
microwave ovens and fridges - an assortment of sources of electro-magnetic
waves which assault our bodies. If we are already 'live' then these things will
add a sort of induced voltage, upping the amount of electrical disturbance by
some unknown factor.
Now would you like to talk about peripheral neuropathy Peter?
Jan
Jan
>Date: 5/9/02 8:15 AM Pacific Daylight Time
>Message-id: <udl4l5j...@corp.supernews.com>
>Hi Janet,
>
>Is this entire posting cut and paste, or did you write any of the above
>texts?
>
>Captn. O
>
I gave the website, did you check it out?
I added the asterisks.
Why are you asking? Had you read the website you would have known the answer to
this question.
http://www.wholisticresearch.com/info/artshow.php3?artid=20
Jan
Annie McNaughton
> jdrew...@aol.com (Jan) wrote:
>
> >The pledge
> >was abandoned within five years! (Curious historical note No1. Quick silver is
> >a common name for mercury, both here and in Germany, and the 'quick' in German
> >is pronounced quack, thus amalgam-using dentists became known as quacks - a
> >term
> >which has come to mean an inept and fraudulent medic - perhaps amalgam-using
> >dentists should still be called quacks).
>
> How long has it been since I pointed out to Jan that the use of the
> word "quack" to mean "an inept and fraudulent medic" predated the use
> of amalgam fillings by at least 200 years?
>
> Has it been two weeks? Maybe as long as three weeks?
>
> The fact that she repeats this when she knows it not to be the truth
> just indicates that when it comes to discussing amalgam fillings, Jan
> does not care about the truth.
And Bowditch cares about truth?
Peter Bowditch
I would like to introduce the inhabitants of sci.med.dentistry to Mr
William P O'Neill of the Canadian Cancer Research Group, posting here
under the latest false name - "Annie McNaughton".
The collected works of Mr O'Neill can be found at
http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/onews et seq. Other communications with
a similar flavour to those of Mr O'Neill are available at
http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/strange/gal.htm
Jan
>Message-id: <240pdu0bh1o0hv5qp...@4ax.com>
OK.
Now would you like to make a retraction, since I posted the origin of the word
quack? And then stated, when it came to mercury amalgams, I didn't want to know
the truth?
Jan
I refuse to post your websites, because hey are full of lies also. Lies you
can't explain.
Annie McNaughton
>
> >And Bowditch cares about truth?
>
> I would like to introduce the inhabitants of sci.med.dentistry to Mr
> William P O'Neill of the Canadian Cancer Research Group, posting here
> under the latest false name - "Annie McNaughton".
>
> The collected works of Mr O'Neill can be found at
> http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/onews et seq. Other communications with
> a similar flavour to those of Mr O'Neill are available at
> http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/strange/gal.htm
And Mr. Bowditch's proof would be.....? Oh, he has no proof. Mr.
Bowditch's obsession with Mr. O'Neill has gone beyond even his limited
ability to discern reality and truth. Perhaps poor Virginia,
Bowditch's unfortunate and dreary spouse, is forced to dress up like
Mr. O'Neill before he buggers her. After all he does publish these
things on his web site.
Annie McNaughton, Ph.D., Medical Sciences