Hi Nicola, I'm very sorry to hear this....but to me? I can't quite see how composites or even the stuff bonding them to the tooth would cause this ongoing metal taste. Did the dentists cure them properly? make sure they are well cured into the tooth, so there is no leakage?

The other thing of course is the fact mercury can start to detox from anywhere and everywhere and that includes tubules and jawbone etc. Mercury can begin to migrate and shift and start to come out. It is a nasty time when any stored mercury starts to come loose and you get ill all over again, but usually worse than you felt WITH amalgams. because it's exaggerated when your body is detoxing the stuff.

This may well be what is taking place and the fact the levels have gone up in your hair, may indicate you're dumping mercury/lead. That is what you WANT to happen. My doctor here wanted my levels to go up, he was very concerned that they were so low because it indicated retention toxicity and I was just not eliminating it properly. This is what they try and achieve, increased levels to show the stuff is coming out of you...

I would still get the serum test done anyway to give yourself a good base to work from for the future, should you decide to change your dental materials. I did a few times, but frankly I don't think it really made much difference. I thought it was them and really it was mercury coming out. But you don't always know that and sometimes it can be reactions. If the serum test indicates that any of the materials you have are "not suitable", then sure you could eventually embark on a replacement with a material that is less reactive.

But I would personally put a bet on the mercury coming out. Mine started to really come out about a year and a half post amalgam removal.....if that's any consolation and that's when the sh*t hit the fan and when I panicked and had replacements of composites and all sorts of things done. I didn't know what was happening to me! Nobody told me about the second phase of suffering, which occurs anytime post amalgam removal. Some get it early, some get it late. Typically it's about 6 months post removal. Mine was a year and a half later if I think back. I had my last amalgams out in about mid 1997....and got ill early 1999 and suffered horribly. Metal taste? OHHHHH YES and add metal smell to that too. I also had a swollen tongue too with the typical indentations from pushing against my teeth. This is a mercury symptom also, it's spoken about one a dental website. They call it "scalloped edges" (in the tongue).

So Nicola, just remember that I went through all this too and did quite a few replacements because everything just got so much worse and about the same time frame as yourself! If I had known it was all mercury? I'd have just kept on chelating!!! If you do have fears about those materials? The serum test should give you some indication and I don't think any materials are ideal anyway. They all contain their own chemicals etc. But if it puts your mind more at rest to get something that is more suitable, that is an option. But don't rush in. Just consider what might actually be happening here first and I would keep chelating personally.

Do you know what materials were used in your mouth? I'd be interested to know. I am very reactive, so I'd like to have a look on my own serum form. I'm quite familiar with quite a few different ones now.