Hi! New here, been lurking a while...

Have decided to get my 6 remaining amalgams out (due to MAJOR unresolved health problems possibly due to a broken amalgam tooth 2 Decembers ago), and have gotten a quote from the only Huggins-approved dentist in the state.

The price he quoted is almost half of my year's salary - way, way too high!!

Since I'm already sick as a dog, should I go into debt to go to this dentist since he's Huggins approved? Or should I go to a different biological dentist who follows a lot of the Huggins protocol, but doesn't charge an arm, leg and first-born child to do it?

My husband recently had his amalgams removed by a non-Huggins dentist a LOT closer to home and has no problems (so far), but he was not sick at all to begin with.

I don't know what to do!

Are the Huggins dentists worth the price they charge? Has anybody here ever went to a Huggins-approved dentist? I'm just afraid this Huggins dentist will do the same thing the other biologic dentist will do, at 3x the price - is it worth it?

Also, if anybody has ever had amalgams replaced by Drs. Rothchild or Boehm in Hoffman Estates, IL - I would LOVE to talk to you & see if they're worth the price!!

Any advice/commentary on my amalgam-replacement options would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

Becky

Hi Becky (i'm Becky too),

I can see the dilemma you are in! I have heard this before about Hal Huggins dentists and it reminds me of the label on certain clothes. How you can wind up paying for the label more than the clothes.

Sorry but any biologic dentist whose done his/her homework should be able to provide just a good a job! You can always talk to them or go and see one and discuss your concerns and what protection they will offer you during removal etc.

You can sometimes find that out via email. E.g. oxygen, goggles, rubber dam, how they remove the amalgam itself (e.g. drilling or cutting).

I would also advise you to only get a few out each time, not a whole pile. Everytime amalgam is being removed, you are exposed to a greater amount of that mercury and sometimes MUCH greater. So I would not get too many out in one session. I would do it gradually over time. E.g. 2 out in one session (one quadrant) and then leave a few weeks inbetween or more to help yourself recover.

Have a look at this link here that might help you too:
http://herballure.com/ubbthreads/sh...&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

The dentist I have an appt with, I know puts safety first, but he is no IAOMT. The dentist that I saw a little over a year ago WAS though, and he wanted $17,000 to do my mouth, and wanted to do it all in one day. I just don't have that kind of money, so I have put it off, and my health has suffered greatly for it. It is time to get mine out, in ANY way possible. I am going by the absolute safest method I can afford.

My question would be, how do all of you pay for it? Do any of you have insurance, or how else have you had to pay for it. I am very curious. All of the holistic physicians and stuff, too...how do you pay for that???

I'm on a sickness benefit with supplementary allowance. I barely get much at all though. Prices go up, but the benefit stays much the same.

Most of mine has been paying it off bit by bit. My father let me use his credit card, but I'm having to pay that off and it's agonisingly slow.

I barely ever see any doctor because I cannot afford to. When I do, that's pretty much it for me because i've got nothing left of my income for that week. I don't see anybody else.

My supplements are few because I cannot afford anymore. I got blasted by a family member for purchasing more DMSA, when I'm supposed to be paying off the credit card. DMSA is very expensive, but becuase of my symptoms after the last visit, I figured I may have inhaled mercury vapr in the office and wanted to see if it would help me. I just desperately wanted to feel more normal and really I couldn't afford enough of them to find out if they would have helped much or not.

So yeah, things get desperate. And my parents are not well off either. They certainly cannot help me, or they would.

There really should be more help for people in this situation. These things were not of our own doing.

Kiwi, I got 3 amalgams removed from a dentist who follows the proper protocol for about $270.00 per tooth. It was $815 total to have 3 amalgams changed out for composite fillings. If you opt for porcelain it costs a lot more but composites are just fine.

Tell the dentists in your area who are mercury free that you don't have insurance to cover the procedure and you will pay "X" number of dollars. Dental services like everything else nowadays are negotiable. Tell 'em what you can afford, chances are high they will do it for that amount. Thats what I did. If not that dentist then call the next one on the list. You will find someone who can do it within your budget. Guaranteed.

I live in a burb of Atlanta, GA so this isn't exactly a cheap market.

"Kiwi, I got 3 amalgams removed from a dentist who follows the proper protocol for about $270.00 per tooth. It was $815 total to have 3 amalgams changed out for composite fillings. If you opt for porcelain it costs a lot more but composites are just fine. "

Composites may not be a good choice for large cavities in rear teeth. They may not last so long. Dental fees vary greatly depending on location.

http://www.bracesinfo.com/dentalcosts/

JK, the 3 teeth I had the mercury removed from were all rear teeth. I've had another composite in a rear toot that has lasted 5 years so far so it has worked well for me.

Well, admittedly gold and porcelain last almost a lifetime and are apparently better for large cavities on the chewing teeth, but I'm hearing that composites can also be very durable.

E.g. I have had some composites for 13 years and only just got them replaced with porcelain...not bad going eh? They seem to be improving on them all the time and they last far longer than people realise.

Certainly someone on a low budget is not going to be able to opt for rolls royce dental materials like gold or porcelain. I did and it's killing me! But I did it because I"m tired of dentists and do not really wish to go back if I can possibly help it. Plus I breath in mercury everytime I'm in there. So i figured if I get a more permanent material, it'll save more visits in the future.

But admittedly I was surprised at how durable my composites were. I think that my healthy diet has also been responsible for how much teeth have managed to hold up. Though my sickness affects them and the gums, so I have to be vigilant in my care.

Bex, (great to meet another Becky!!) thanks for your excellent advice & links!! You may be right about the "paying more for the label than the clothes" thing. Personally, I'd rather wear Levis than Calvin Kleins, and have some money left over for other fun things... like food & bills (okay, and some chocolate every once in a while wouldn't hurt!!)

It looks like you've got a lot of experience with DMSA - I've read Cutler's book but still am not too clear on how good/bad it is. Are really sick people with possible liver issues able to take DMSA after the amalgams are all out? Or would DMSA hurt the liver more by pushing the stuff through the body too quickly?

If I remember correctly from some of your other postings, we could probably share stories about horrible food reactions. I've been on the diet from hell for the past year due to diabetes problems. Had to cut almost all grains and dairy from my diet because eating it MADE ME ITCH 24/7 (I thought I had skin parasites at one point!), and of course I can't have sugar-that really does a number on me. I feel for ya - I kinda know what you're going through!!

It sounds like you've been on the medical merry go round for a while - I hope things get better quickly for you!! You've got such a great attitude - you shouldn't have to put up with such a crummy bunch of illnesses!!

Lisa, the dentist that removed my husband's amalgams is an IAOMT guy, and he is a LOT cheaper than the Huggins dentist I got my quote from. Maybe it all depends on what these people think they can get away with charging...

The thing that scares me so much is I got an amalgam in a cracked tooth replaced with a porcelain Cerec 2 Decembers ago by a non-Huggins biological dentist (who did all the right things), and 2 months later is when my health started to slide into the toilet. My biggest fear is that more amalgam removals is going to put me past the point of no return - I don't think my body can take much more!! That's why I'm being so cautious in choosing a dentist - scared to death of what might happen next!!

As for paying for all this stuff, I've got insurance but it only pays a total of $3,000 a year for dental work. The rest comes straight out of my bank account (which isn't that big to begin with!!)

Same with the holistic physicians (I've been going to a naturopath for some of my health issues.) The insurance companies seem like they'd rather give MDs money to treat our symptoms and keep us sick forever, and won't pay a dime towards the holistic doctors who actually try to treat the CAUSE of our problems. Don't get me started on that one - I could go on for days!! Ugh!!

I hope your removals go well when you are able to have them done!!

James, thanks for the advice on pricing amalgam replacements. I'm pretty sure I'm going to talk to the dentist that removed my husband's fillings and see what he can do.

I talked to my cousin tonight - she's a hygienist in a regular dentist's office (poor gal - but she's still a sweetie!) She told her employer what the Huggins dentist's quote for my removals was, and said his jaw just hit the pavement! She gave me some of their prices for amalgam replacements (non-biological, of course!) and man, what a difference!! We're talking over a thousand dollars a tooth - how insane!!

About this ileocecal valve problem of yours - did you say you have funny reactions to supplements because of it? I used to be able to take any darned kind of vitamin or supplement with no problem, but for the past year, I get a noticeable reaction to almost EVERYTHING I take. We're just talking normal things like multivitamins, mineral supplements, even olive leaf extract to get rid of a cold. Now some of these things make me crabby, or dizzy, or anxious - depending on the supplement.

Could this be attributed to a possible ileocecal valve problem, or just more mercury-induced body craziness??

Hi Becky, <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You're welcome. lol yeah actually I'd rather wear levis anyway!!! I love them.

Yeah, I have definitely been on the merry-go-round in these areas. Many years of it and making stupid mistakes along the way. So much of which could probably have been avoided if I had made wiser decisions, but we live and learn.

You can get well from this. So don't give up. It takes time, it takes effort and everything you do for your body is part of getting better. Not just amalgam removal and chelation, but diet, and getting things working again. Removing as many toxic potentials from your person and your life as you can, to reduce overall toxic load. Some people do the diet, the parasite cleanses, colon cleanses and find it's helped them greatly on their road to healing after amalgam removal as well as removing any other toxicity from their life (within reason).

Everybody is different, so sometimes what works for one may not be so great for someone else. You can only try and find your own way, but hopefully some suggestions on here might be of help to you.

My food reactions I believe stem from internal infection, related to a virus I got in 2003 (which never left my system), plus possible gangrene in the jaw after tooth extraction. many possibiities. Certainly it's not so much mercury because I had already been detoxing and healing from that already. Things went horribly wrong with virus and other possible infection. Far worse than just the mercury believe it or not. At least with the mercury, hellish as it was, I could actually detox it. This is different.

I personally find that the candida diet with healthy food, plus simple supplements to support me (antioxidants) are desperately required for me. If I don't have them? Things seem to go down hill even further. It's frightening.

But when you are mercury toxic and/or have candida? Yes, sometimes you will find yu may react to supplements. I had that mainly I think with mercury. Because you don't always know if it's allergic, or a healing response. When you have a load of mercury,sometimes certain things can set off a detox and you can feel revolting (worse). So you sometimes assume that you're allergic, when it may not always be that.

Diet helped me to handle things better. But you can still get healing reactions from certain foods and even healthy fats too. The body really does want to get well and when it's given the right stuff, it tries to push these things out (that's if it's not blocked from doing so, or hindered greatly by something else).

Yep, I had to give up grain and most dairy too (apart from acidophilus yoghurt and butter). Milk, cheese etc, are bad bad bad. They feed candida like crazy. As does grains and fruit for me too. Some people can do ok on these things, so long as they don't venture onto the bad sugars. But I have a stuffed immunity and bad candida, so even natural sugars and things can cause it to flourish. One piece of fruit can do it. As can milk or grain.

I tend to stick to proteins and fats and vegetables (low carb). That's all I can really handle. I can eat nuts and seeds too, but am off them for now because of the valve thing.

I'm off supplements right now too, becuase of that. Seeing how things go. So far no difference, but it's early days I guess.

At least you are putting out feelers to find out what dentist you feel most comfortable to do the work. It is dreadful to get a dentist that charges so much. I always steer clear of ones like that, because I think "what exactly is your REAL motivation???" It makes me think the money is far more important than the patient's health, so that's a warning signal for me. I know they got their overheads to pay for etc, but come on, if other dentists do not have to charge so much, nor should they. Especially for something like this.

whoever you choose, let's hope it turns out well for you.

Thanks for the kind words too! My attitude isn't so hot in reality. I get very very down to it, but having this forum helps me to keep going and I hope it does for you too.

Bex - yeah, I hear ya about the mistakes - I'm second guessing myself at every step of investigating my amalgam removal to try to avoid them!

The problem is, a lot of times you don't know what you're doing is a mistake until after you've done it!! It's hard to make informed decisions when the information we need to get better is being withheld/hidden/subverted by the "powers that be" - meaning the Dental Associations and other people invested in keeping amalgam usage legal. That's why this forum is so great - the word's actually getting into the hands of the people that need it the most!!

It's a real bummer that what's causing your food reactions is so difficult to get rid of - especially when you're not 100% sure what it is!! Gangrene sounds pretty serious - what are your options for treating that without messing with your lingering infection and everything else you're dealing with?

You're probably gotten boatloads of advice, but have you ever tried olive leaf extract? It's virucidal, anti-bacterial, destroys candida organisms and, best of all, INEXPENSIVE. I use it to prevent colds and get rid of cold sores. It saved my husband's butt the night before his aunt's funeral. He ate some bad lunch meat at her wake the night before, and woke up at 1 am heaving his guts up. He was in a panic because he was supposed to be a pallbearer at the funeral in 7 hours!! I made him take a few squirts of olive leaf extract, and re-take it after it came up again, and thank God, he was able to get to the funeral on time and do his thing without being sick. That stuff is a life-saver!!

You're so right about diet helping things - it's amazing how your body can respond to food that's "right" for it. They say that a sign of nutritional deficiency is the disappearance of those little half-moon white marks at the base of your fingernails. Before I started my diet from hell (anti-dairy, anti-grain), I could only see the marks on my thumbnail - the rest of them were gone. Now after being forced to eat veggies, proteins & healthy fats for over a year (a lot like what you've been doing), the half-moons on 4 of my fingernails are coming back. I guess even when we're sick, when we're doing the right things, other things DO get better... It'd be nice if it were a bit quicker, though!!

I'm so glad this forum is here for all of us that are trying to figure out our problems and how to get onto the path to getting our lives back without being crushed under the heels of the evil dental mafia!!