Sep
When we visit the dentist, we are under the impression that our oral health is adequately monitored and cared for with great precision. Although general dentistry offers preventive treatment options to keep teeth and gums in good condition, there are also common restorative treatments that can lead to ongoing health issues. For decades, the risk of amalgam fillings has been debated, with data mounting to prove this frequently used material poses significant health risks.
Most people only know of silver dental fillings, as amalgam has been the most-used dental material for so long. Since before the Civil War, dentists around the world found amalgam to be the most affordable and easiest filling material available. Before this time, gold was a primary option. Even today, many dentists, as well as dental organizations, argue that amalgam, as a dental material, is safe and efficient.
Research tells us differently. Mercury, recognized as one of the most poisonous substances on earth, really has no place in consumer products. Many countries have removed mercury from household items due to its significant danger. If not safe for commercial use, how can mercury be safe in a dental filling? An amalgam filling has approximately 1,000 milligrams of mercury, which is used as a binding agent for the other metals in amalgam. Contaminated seafood doesn’t even contain such a high level of this toxic substance.
The fact that mercury is contained within the hardened dental filling does not reduce its poisonous effect. Researchers have determined that mercury is released from every amalgam filling in the form of vapours. Every time a filling is heated when we consume warm food or drinks and when we chew, the mercury vapours enter the air in the mouth and they are breathed into the lungs. Mercury does not leave the body. Whether it is inhaled or it enters the bloodstream, mercury builds up and has accumulative effects on the health due to oxidative stress.
Oxidation in the tissues of the body leads to premature aging as well as disease because the result of oxidative stress is chronic inflammation. Mercury, built up in the body, instigates inflammation, and it impairs the body’s natural ability to detoxify itself, promoting illness.
With mercury linked to a number of chronic health conditions, as well as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, holistic practitioners choose to offer dentistry services that do not include amalgam. In our Central HK holistic dental practice, we are committed to the promotion of healthy bodies, not just healthy teeth and gums. Contact the office of Dr. Tong to learn more about holistic dental services.
Dr. Titania was born in Hong Kong, but she grew up in England, where she completed her undergraduate education and received her degree in dentistry from Guy’s Hospital Dental School at the University of London. She practiced general dentistry in London for a period of four years, and then returned to Hong Kong in 1987, where she spent the next decade working in a large group practice before establishing her own dental clinic in 1999.