where to start researching about replacing amalgam fillings

[tanyalynn]

Hi all,

This issue has just come up in my life and although I've read some old threads, I think I have a lot I need to learn. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

Can you recommend some resources, online or books, that will be a good introduction? I've read of a book by someone named Cutler, but I haven't seen the title--is this a good starting point?

One site I googled quoted 10mcg of mercury released per day per filling. Is there any sort of concensus on how much mercury is released from amalgam fillings? I was stunned at that number, so I really want to find some other sources, or see if this is a decent ballpark number.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I appreciate it.

[tanyalynn]

Why do I always forget to subscribe to my own threads? Sigh...

[JaneS]

The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT)
www.iaomt.org
is the best source to start with and to answer some of your questions. That is where I found my dentist too.

(I wonder if the ADA site has a number of amount released too? They finally admitted that fillings do leak Hg.)

Andrew Cutler resources
Yahoo group http://home.earthlink.net/~moriam/
book www.noamalgam.com

DAMS Inc. - Mercury Free and Healthy
http://www.amalgam.org/

Consumers for Dental Choice
http://www.toxicteeth.org/

Pat Sullivan Blog
http://www.patsullivan.com/blog/mercury/index.html

[tanyalynn]

Jane, thanks for the advice. Do you know everything? I'm not being at all facetious. Every time I realize there's _yet another_ topic I really need to learn more on, I do a Search and find your name with good links and advice. So, thank you very much, I appreciate the guidance.

I'm wading through the IAOMT site and finding lots. So far, I've seen 3-7mcg per filling in the Swedish gov't study from the summary of 1997 data and ominous references to thyroid problems and amalgams. But I'll also head over to the ADA and see what they have to say. But I'm not thrilled with 3-7mcg per filling per day for the last 20 years, and higher would just make me even more : .

Thank you!

[JaneS]

I wish!!!!

Glad I've been of help. Any knowledge I have is based on discussions started here and the MDC angels that changed my life. I'm just trying to give back.

A Thyroid and Hg connection, huh? Now that I don't know about ... coincidentally we are facing thyroid issues here.

[tanyalynn]

Sorry for no response for so long, I appreciate your advice. I've been staying away from the computer because I have such a tendency to stay too long, and it's always at night, so that cuts into my sleep time, and now that my thyroid problems are somewhat better, other issues have been uncovered and I feel like I'm a) falling apart (and I'm way too young for that), and b) I need, absolutely need, to take really good care of myself. Sleep, ridiculous amounts every single night, being the first part of that.

The Swedish gov't study talks about mercury and thyroid problems, and a couple other papers on the site do, too. But as I re-read, the estimates in the 3-7 or 10mcg range are total, not per filling (which is weird, because then you have to decide if the number of fillings you as an individual have is comparable to the average in their study). Either way, I'm not thrilled and I'm seriously looking into replacing mine late this year or early next year.

I'm rambling, but anyway, thanks for the advice on where to go to start reading. I printed out pages to read.

[tanyalynn]

Jane, this page (the link's below, I haven't learned how to do the fancy links other folks can do) has summaries of lots of studies regarding mercury and thyroid problems, and problems related to thyroid problems. The top is discussion/summary, but the bottom cites references and summaries.

http://ithyroid.com/mercury.htm