I was recently talking to WuWei/Pat IRL about my problem, and she encouraged me to post here to get some advice from the knowledgeable mamas...
I have a cracked molar which has an amalgam filling. It cracked probably about 7 months ago, near the end of my pregnancy. (DS2 is now 6 mos). As the tooth is cracked, it is "leaking" from the outside in, i.e. decaying. It hurts to have pressure on that tooth, so I have not been eating on that side of my mouth for all this time. Although it does not hurt aside from that when "at rest."
In addition to ds2 who is EBF, I also have an almost 3yr old DS who still nurses a few-several times a day. I plan on having more kids and I don't expect to have a break from nursing and/or pregnancy for a number of years to come.
I also have two other amalgam fillings.
My mainstream dentist wanted to drill and fill around the amalgam. I was not comfortable with that, so I consulted with a "holistic" dentist who said the tooth needs a crown and would remove the amalgam. He would follow the protocols for safe removal, but his opinion was that it was more important to disinfect my mouth (for $2000) than get the filling out or repair the crack (as well as offering a whole lot of other services/treatments for other teeth.) I am not to keen on that guy b/c I felt like he wasn't listening to my chief complaint and being unfamiliar with disinfecting the mouth, I wondered if it's not quackery (not to mention his other expensive procedures and services).
At any rate, that is somewhat extra information about the dentists, but I would appreciate some advice on the best course of action. I want to get the tooth fixed and be able to use my mouth normally again. Obviously I need to balance my need to fix the tooth with the rest of my health and that of my nurslings and future babies.
-Should I hold out a few more months for the sake of DS2? Will that even make much difference?
-What can I do to reduce the impact of th Hg exposure? WuWei was talking about certain things that help bind Hg and avoid things that detox or chelate? In this regard, are supplements OK? or should I just try to get the minerals/vitamins/nutrients I need through whole foods? (If so, I worry about getting "enough" through diet alone and need to know specifically which foods since I am a remedial nutritionist! Also, what are the OD levels?)
-I also heard a recommendation about pumping and dumping at certain intervals related to the half-life of Hg when levels increase again post exposure... how important might this be? (I normally don't do any pumping and have no idea if DS2 would take a bottle of BM, let alone formula)
-Can anyone in good conscience offer me some consolation that having this done while nursing will NOT have a super detrimental effect on my nurslings??? (Would it really be better to have the tooth pulled??
)
I am really nervous about this whole thing and am worried about what I should do. Thank you in advance for your help and advice!
I have a cracked molar which has an amalgam filling. It cracked probably about 7 months ago, near the end of my pregnancy. (DS2 is now 6 mos). As the tooth is cracked, it is "leaking" from the outside in, i.e. decaying. It hurts to have pressure on that tooth, so I have not been eating on that side of my mouth for all this time. Although it does not hurt aside from that when "at rest."
In addition to ds2 who is EBF, I also have an almost 3yr old DS who still nurses a few-several times a day. I plan on having more kids and I don't expect to have a break from nursing and/or pregnancy for a number of years to come.
I also have two other amalgam fillings.
My mainstream dentist wanted to drill and fill around the amalgam. I was not comfortable with that, so I consulted with a "holistic" dentist who said the tooth needs a crown and would remove the amalgam. He would follow the protocols for safe removal, but his opinion was that it was more important to disinfect my mouth (for $2000) than get the filling out or repair the crack (as well as offering a whole lot of other services/treatments for other teeth.) I am not to keen on that guy b/c I felt like he wasn't listening to my chief complaint and being unfamiliar with disinfecting the mouth, I wondered if it's not quackery (not to mention his other expensive procedures and services).
At any rate, that is somewhat extra information about the dentists, but I would appreciate some advice on the best course of action. I want to get the tooth fixed and be able to use my mouth normally again. Obviously I need to balance my need to fix the tooth with the rest of my health and that of my nurslings and future babies.
-Should I hold out a few more months for the sake of DS2? Will that even make much difference?
-What can I do to reduce the impact of th Hg exposure? WuWei was talking about certain things that help bind Hg and avoid things that detox or chelate? In this regard, are supplements OK? or should I just try to get the minerals/vitamins/nutrients I need through whole foods? (If so, I worry about getting "enough" through diet alone and need to know specifically which foods since I am a remedial nutritionist! Also, what are the OD levels?)
-I also heard a recommendation about pumping and dumping at certain intervals related to the half-life of Hg when levels increase again post exposure... how important might this be? (I normally don't do any pumping and have no idea if DS2 would take a bottle of BM, let alone formula)
-Can anyone in good conscience offer me some consolation that having this done while nursing will NOT have a super detrimental effect on my nurslings??? (Would it really be better to have the tooth pulled??
)I am really nervous about this whole thing and am worried about what I should do. Thank you in advance for your help and advice!
Tanya and JaneS are wonderful resources! Also, check out the 
I totally mis-interpreted your post. And I have occasionally seen people say they didn't want to chelate due to health concerns, which is interesting because I am chelating for both my short- and my long-term health.
can learn about nutrients needed to support our innate detox pathways so that our bodies work better, and maybe figure out some things they, in particular, need more of vs the typical person out there. But that's the nerdy me talking.
