I don't know where to even begin. I had made an appointment to have amalgams removed at a supposedly good school in Boston and I was told in email and by phone that the school did perform amalgam removal.

I had to have help from a relative for travel but I eventually get to this school. This school consists of students who are monitored by supervision. After all of the x-rays and stuff, I get to the chair for the examination of my teeth by a student assigned to me. For the most part my teeth has some flaws but are alright and savable. I then reitterate what my primary goals were, having my amalgams removed. The student then tells me that they do not do this type of work and that my insurance does not cover amalgam removals at all because it isn't a necessary medical reason to have them out, nevermind that I have mercury in my body because I have had some of the symptons of mercury poisoning including panic attacks and some illogical thinking and metallic tastes. There arent any specialized dentists I could find in Mass but in NH, my Aunt said there was one but they do not accept Mass Health and Mass Health doesn't cover those procedures anyway.

What I had to find out for myself were the words that came out from the student's mouth: "Mercury is not toxic" I got into it about the ADA with her and how they say it is toxic and that there is evidence to mercury's toxicities while at the same time instructing doctors to use mercury. She explained about encapsulation and all that jargon which I knew was misinformation.

So, as long as mercury is in the mouth it is fine, she continues on. Another student right next to me blurted out that she fills her husband's teeth with mercury occassionally. I did somewhat storm out of their in a puff and said that "You people are stupid" I know it isn't the students fault or the dentist doing the work, it is this ADA and other interests who parade illogical ideas and make them laws that really upsets me.

I now am understanding what I have been reading about how much of a pain this is. Mass Health doesn't cover amalgam removals and I cannot get any other insurance because Mass Health is the only one under the disability that I am under.

I have been given other universities to try but I don't truly believe that they would be able to perform such delicate operations. "Just pulling out teeth" is not the answer and there is a protocol to follow when dealing with mercury from what I have researched.

My Aunt recommended that I just get dentures but my teeth are still in ok shape. I was with my Aunt, in Nashua, nh, for the two days that I was away from Northampton, Ma, to Boston so the trip was not totally wasted and I did have a good time with relatives there.

I was thinking of going to the local hospital to see if they do perform mercury testing but I don't know if they are capable or if they would be following the mantra of anything ADA or ADA related. It's walking distance so I'm lucky there at least.

In Massachusetts you are force fed insurance, everyone has to have a form of insurance, and yet it will not cover the important stuff, what good is it?

Well, that's really about it. Is my case a lost case, I don't know. Have I given up on it all, no. From what I can gather, I will be living with what is in my mouth unless I can find something vitamin-wise, or other, to offset the mercury. I am very low income and cannot afford too much.

That's my story, thanks for listening.

RJ

so much for a college education. You learn what they need you to learn in a certain profession, which isn't necessarily the whole truth or even close to it a lot of the time. sad.

But anyway, sadder is the fact that most insurance policies won't cover amalgam removal. What you describe is not unique to MA. Since standard accepted policy is that amalgam is safe, just as the young dentist told you, insurance companies won't pay for it anywhere in the USA. It's officially viewed as a cosmetic procedure, not health related.

i imagine that knowing what doctors and most knowledgable dentists actually know about the dangers of amalgam, which can be quite a bit depending on where you go, that the ADA, the AMA, and dentistry schools in collusion with insurance companies, fear an onslaught of very expensive removal and chelation/health related costs, not to mention numerous lawsuits, if they teach or make public the actual truth about amalgam and mercury in general, which is also found in vaccines. And besides your bad health and damaged teeth keep you coming back and guarantees their paycheck. they have nothing to gain and everything to lose if they tell you the truth.

there are good honest dentists out there though, and doctors too. You have to search around to find them, get referrals. to pay for it you will simply have to go slowly do one at a time or something. It's usually a cash out of pocket endeavor. dentures will probably cost quite a bit too, I'd get get the amalgams replaced if the teeth are good. get the xrays from the dental school so you don't have to pay for that again. you should simply need to ask for them but if that doesn't work write them a letter and according to the law at that point they must surrender the record with xrays.

how many amalgams do you have?

Hi RJ,

In no way shape or form is mercury in the mouth "safe". A small amount of mercury can poison an entire lake. Let's consider the oral environment. It is actually the worse place, because the amalgams are continually exposed to saliva, chewing, hot fluids, (extremes in temperature) on a daily basis. The mercury that is supposedly "locked in" to the amalgam gives of vapors because of all this. There is NO WAY to stop that, unless you put them in a freezer I guess (permanently).

Heat, or any kind of stimulation via chewing, increases the uptake of mercury vapor exposure far more than if they were left alone in a neutral environment. THe mouth is NOT neutral. These people you have spoken to are being brain washed by those in charge. They CANNOT afford (literally) to make any admissions on the toxicitiy of mercury because of the potential for suing.

Mercury amalgam has already been banned in places around the world (sweden being one and I think Germany and others). PLUS, in some areas, by law they now require a warning notice about amalgam causing possible reproductive harm. So YES it most definitely is poisonous and it is known it is. These students are ignorant and probably do not want to know considering they're spent money going through dental school and sat and studied to pass their exams.

So they will not wish to hear about this. It takes a long time for anybody's mind set to be changed and may take some painful personal experiences for any of those students to change. It can and does happen however, you've got an increasing number of mainstream dentists becoming biologic. These students should be able to answer why this is happening and why dentists who have been in the business probably longer than they've been alive, have changed to biologic and gotten rid of amalgam if it is so apparently "safe"? And also so easy for the dentist to use....

Even one amalgam can poison a person. directly and indirectly. Mercury can make a person sick just by being in the mouth, but worse than this, it's the way it slowly accummulates in the tissues, organs/brain over time. So a person can become further debilitated over time and not have any idea what's happening. Mercury is insidious and often overlooked at a cause or contributing factor because of the nature of its ability to slowly poison over time.

Sometimes it takes another accident or illness to push someone into chronic mercury poisoning. THeir immunity may have been fighting it for a long time, but one further knock can be enough to cause someone to be devastated and suffer symptoms from then on.

Testing for mercury is notoriously inaccurate or misinterpreted. mercury is tightly bound and often does not show the true picture on testing results. It usually has to be encouraged out of the storage to show any level on a test, but even then the testing has to be done just right for this to occur. Mercury moves everywhere, hard to track and test.

Hair testing can often show very low levels of mercury in very toxic people. This can be retention toxicity (holding too tightly to mercury, so it cannot be excreted properly and show up on the hair) or the person is simply poisoned by very low levels. Usually it just means it's bound up and not freely available to test.

Please be careful of testing for this reason. Many things do not show the true picture in testing, especially if the person doesn't know what to look for or how to test. E.g. you can have very low levels on a hair test and be extremely poisoned. Often the way to test hair is by looking at the mineral levels. mercury can often show a pattern of deranged mineral levels. This can be the way to find out if mercury is at work (checking mineral levels). Mercury hides, it's quick silver, can go anywhere and competes with other necessary things in out body, displacing necessary nutrients and minerals. Poisoning our tissues and organs at the sametime. This stuff is lethal. The most toxic metal known to man. The most toxic element known to man (second only to plutonium).

Some people have a much higher tolerance of it for various reasons. They may not retain it as much and isntead excrete it well, plus may also not be sensitive and may have a pretty good constitution to begin with. others are completely intolerant of it and cannot eliminate it properly, so it builds up and poisons them over time.

I sympathise very much with your financial situation! This is very sad and I wonder if you can find someone who does amalgam removal, but just do one at a time over a long period? Even just chipping away at it bit by bit, is better than nothing.

Apart from that, the best way I have found to aid immune system and fight mercury is by diet. Excluding all sugars, all gluten grains and yeast. Lowering candida levels (which are often high in mercury sufferers) is a wise move. Eating very healthy foods and having enough proteins from eggs and meat and good fats like butter, lard and olive oil (mercury free fish oil too).

I would advise you to read Hal Huggins book "it's all in your head". He advises exclusion of sugar, caffeine, gluten/wheat and consuming plenty of proteins and fats. He believes this helps heal mercury toxic people.

Of course vitamins and minerals may also aid this. I used to use vitamin C, selenium and vitamin E and zinc mainly. Nothing flash, but good antioxidants for mercury. Don't have to start on high doses, check your responses before raising the dose.

I eat eggs, meats (beef, lamb, liver, chicken), acidophilus yoghurt (sugar free/plain), raw nuts (almonds and brazil), vegetables (except for potatoes and corn/peas because they are too high in carbohydrates and can feed yeast). I have butter and lard and olive oil and fish oil capsules. I believe this diet is the only thing that keeps me going at all!

I no longer have mercury poisoning as such, but viral infection and other possible jawbone infection from tooth extraction. So my needs and problems are different these days, but increasing immune response is required for ANY illness and this diet is very helpful.

Please look into candida. You should find many symptoms you are suffering maybe related to this. Again, mercury causes candida. So candida can take over and become even worse than the mercury sometimes. Google it on the net and read up the symptoms. You maybe a victim of both!

Candida is treated mostly by diet, but takes patience and time. IT feeds on sugars, yeasts and glutens apparently. Even natural sugars in fruit and milk and grain can be problematic, so they too may need to be excluded (or at least limited).

A lady on here called sosick still has amalgams. She cannot get them out because she is allergic to the alternative (plastic). She is doing amazingly well on a regime she' uses for mercury. I cannot say whether it will help you, everybody is different, but it might.

its ashame that people have to get sick to learn about how harmful amalgam fillings are to there health , the roots of ignorance run very deep .

Thanks for the support and information.

I had the last dental visit at the end of 1997 just before Mass Health stopped dental coverage in my area. Not a lot of dentists accept MH and that can be a search.

I can estimate that I had roughly 35 cavities, not whole-tooth, mostly spotted sections and there are a few chipped fillings in my mouth. I have had a few that had just fallen out and those I had saved. The fillings I have currently are primarily in the back-top and back-bottom teeth with some on the sides and maybe the mid and front but those don't show as the blackish color that amalgams have, those look clear.

I can eat healthier once in a while but not all the time because a lot of healthy food products are more costly and I do not receive much per month for living, around $600.00 only. I don't have much of an eating schedule. I get what I can get. Vitamins would be the next best thing since there is the quantity aspect that comes out to be cheaper in the long term.

I hope that my being upset at some of the students will make think think on their off-time to look up what I was saying and make a logical decision on their own but that may be just wishful thinking.

I may not be able to get these fillings removed but if I can at least offset it with supplements then I might be able to put my mind at rest somewhat.

RJ, sorry to hear about your situation. I have been sick with chronic fatigue syndrome for over 20 years. I am having my amalgams replaced. I have had 22 done so far and have 3 more to go. This has been very expensive, since most could not be done with composites, but needed inlays, onlays , or crowns. I am sorry that I don't have any ideas about how you could get your amalgams replaced for free or at a low cost. There may be ways to get them replaced free or at low cost if they are in bad condition. I didn't see you mention how many there are or what condition they are in.

I'm not sure if it was here or another forum where I read about a very wealthy individual who was mercury poisoned and after having his mercury fillings removed he restored his health. So he then set up a foundation to provide money for people who can't afford to have their mercury fillings removed. You fill out an application and they approve by need and call dentists in the area the person lives to negotiate a good rate with the dentists. By doing this they even find dentists who will do the work for nothing or at least a reduced rate. The foundation then pays the entire fee.

Anyone here know about this program? RJ, where there's a will there's a way. If this is what you feel you need to restore your health then keep pressing forward and it will happen for you.

I think you're thinking the Jigsaw Foundation, which unfortunately closed down. http://www.jigsawhealth.org/

duper, I don't think that is the one 'cause it is still running and is funded by 1 very wealthy benefactor but a bunch of separate donors.

I can understand I am on a limited budget also. But eliminating foods that contain unnecessary things like sugar and gluten, maybe helpful regardless. These two things are commonly very damaging in someone wtih mercury poisoning. It doesn't mean you have to spend up big, but make wise choices that eliminate sugar and gluten grain if you can do so.

No amount of supplementation will do much if you rely on that, rather than diet. Diet is more important and also allows your body to absorb nutrients better and that includes getting anything out of supplements.

Supplements cost a heck of a lot of money too, which is why I prefer to put my money towards unadulterated foods instead most of the time. It is sad that so many healthy foods have wound up being more expensive than junk food... But from the little money I get each week, if I do not make wise choices everyday, I get into big trouble. I am barely able to function.

It is hard to say which supplements exactly would be the best for you because everybody is different, but certainly antioxidants are necessary as mercury uses so much of them up and B vitamins (though you can get B vitamins from other means like beef liver), plus omega 3 oils are also good. Some use flaxseed oil for that because it's cheaper than fish oil. Protective foods like animal fats are also helpful in mercury poisoning. Butter is wonderful.

I wish you had some more help financially like a supplementary allowance, just a bit more to tide you over. Sounds like you are only barely scraping by. This is ridiculous. I can't believe that people like us are made to suffer because of dentists who did this in the first place, and then made to suffer financially because we cannot afford to do what is required to help the toxicity or even remove the very source causing it (which wasn't our fault in the first place). I think amalgam removal should be free because the biologic dentists are making a admission that they KNOW it's toxic, which is why they no longer use it in their surgery....surely part of rectifying what they and their colleagues have done in their past is free removal of these amalgams? or at least giving a very low charge for it, seeing as many of them were responsible for this in the first place.

It defies belief. yes I realise they need to make a living and have often high cost over-heads, but in this case of amalgam poisoning? I do not believe that they should be charging such costs for removals. I think it stinks.

Wow - it has been a year since I made this post.

I gave up but now am starting to realize that things aren't right. I'm irritable, not thinking right sometimes, not as focused, have some minor difficulty in holding thoughts.

I have also sensitivities to certain sounds that weren't a big deal a year ago. Middle of last year I noticed some gray hairs but I can't confirm if this is from mercury. I'm still sort of young to get gray hair and the males on my fathers side barely had any.

I thought I had gotten lucky when last year I was offered to make an appointment at a Mall but the place has a rep for being assembly-lined with patients and they don't deal with amalgam removal explicitly and as had been said as before: "Mass Health won't cover an alternative." They cover only mercury it appears.

There is one place in Massachusetts, Groton to be exact that specializes in amalgam removal, they even go through the actual steps, outlined, but they do not accept any type of insurance at all, ouch.

I realize that this is very specialized and carries risks. I would have to go little-by-little and I don't have transportation. I've ran out of ideas and I would have to look for something else like what has been already mentioned about vitamins and such.

I thought to update this post to at least let others know I'm still trying to hold on to what is left of my sanity and well-being and that I feel for others who are left out in the dark.

Here we have a chance with what is available but many of us are held back by complacency and neglect by the very system that is suppose to prevent things such as these from occurring in the first place.

If there is a dental school in your area you may be able to get at least the fillings that are in bad condition replaced for very little or no cost. In NYC NYU Dental School does plenty of dental work for free, while others are charged perhaps around 1/3 or so of the cost of a regular dentist. Imo you should start having the fillings that are in poor condition replaced first, as those are probably leaking the most mercury, and there is the possibility of getting decay under those fillings. You have 35 fillings? If so, then it would be best to have them replaced over a year or two anyway, as getting many replaced in a short period of time would give you too much mercury exposure.

I have sensitivities to sounds too, things are alot louder as in a spoon hitting a dish, I can't stand that noise there. What kind of sounds do you get annoyed or bothered by? I have quite a few, it really effects the way you live everyday (I have been like that since a kid pretty much but it gets better and worse, goes up and down).

Hi Sean, ((( Smiles )))

You mean sounds such as this?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPUgOionJiY&feature=related

Bus sounds, like when they start off the buses. High pitched whirs. One time the bus driver kept the sound going for ten minutes straight and I yelled at him but he kept it going.

Dinnerware isn't much of a bother.

The closest I ever got to a school was in Boston, last year. They claimed they did this removal procedure but when I got there they told me they didn't and that Mass Health wouldn't cover it. New York is not a possibility for me, I'm financially weaker, more than I was a year ago and I don't have the means to get that far.

I will be contacting a Holistic dentist in Mass, one who I didn't see before online, and ask for some advice. Nothing on his site mentions of health coverage, most of these places don't accept it. If he can at least give me some advice on what I can do I will be happy with this.

I was having effects back then but now the effects have stepped themselves up. I can officially say I am a time-bomb and the timer has been set. I feel like I don't have a lot of time and I'm starting to get things into order somewhat in my life just in case something should happen to me.

My only reservation is that of supplements, unless I can find rides and a overly concerned doctor who could at the very least except monthly payments then I don't have much for options opened.

Imo you need to find a regular dentist, and not just limit yourself to holistic dentists. Holistic dentists probably won't accept any insurance, or be willing to do the work at a greatly reduced fee rate. You probably should just tell the dentist that you are worried about your teeth and that some of your fillings might be in bad shape, not your greater plan to have all your mercury fillings replaced whether they are in bad shape or not.
Try to find a dental school, or social services agency that can provide free dentists, or dentists who will work at a greatly reduced fee schedule. Don't look at it as an all or nothing project. Get what you can get done(ie the fillings that are in worst shape), and leave those that are in better shape for a later time.

I made the mistake of not seeing a dentist for over 4 years until one of my teeth became so bad that I needed a root canal. The priority for you should be to get the fillings that are in bad condition taken care of ASAP. Those are probably leaking mercury at a much higher rate than the fillings that are in better condition. You should plan on taking care of the fillings over a few years, so you need to start the process ASAP.
I had 25 fillings. It is almost a year since the last of my amalgam fillings were replaced. At first I felt much better after a few were replaced, however I have had several ups and downs since then.

RJ,

I have a lot of empathy for you man. I have metal poisoning myself and really bad digestive problems like candida. But I am on the minimum amount of disability too which is a little more than $600 a month. How is someone supposed to live somewhere, buy the right foods, have cable tv or the internet so you don't go crazy, and all the other stuff that costs money? So I totally understand all that.

As far as your symptoms, I have a lot of them. The sensitivity to sounds is probably due to your nervous system being affected and your adrenals. Also, I am 24 years old and started getting some gray hairs a few years ago. This should not be happening because my dad has a full head of hair and only started getting grayness recently when he was like 40 years old. My hair falls out too. But the gray hairs are due to oxidative stress.

Anyways, I agree with others here that supplements really shouldn't be the priority because the goal is to eliminate toxins and exposure. So when you take supplements but you continue to put in sugars and foods that create toxicity and promote bad health, the supplements aren't gonna work. I've tried it. My digestion is so poor due to bad bacteria in my gut and digestion that nothing is being assimilated. I'm really underweight.

It's hard, I know. I've been addicted to sugar and tasty foods ALL my life. But it's like I've been learning from others here, you have to make choices and overtime you feel good about yourself and won't want or crave those foods anymore. I believe this should be the first step is to try and make habits not to eat junk foods and sugars and gluten.

Maybe you could check out this website and the resources that are listed. http://www.jigsawhealth.org/

One of the worst feelings is to feel out of control of your situation. I know this ALL too well. TO know there is a problem, that there is something you can do about it to get well, but not be able to afford it or be hindered from getting well for whatever reason. This is something I understand really well.

I'm gonna pray for you man and keep trying. Do you have any family?

Yes I mean that Lynn, all those sound bother me you posted up there, period......

Replacing mercury with new, more, mercury is madness and will only delay the problems. I won't be accepting any more of that stuff.

In Northampton/Florence there aren't any takers of Mass Health for dentistry since the late 90's. Worcester or maybe even Greenfield might be options but rides are a problem for me.

I had thought about getting dentures. I believe this may be actually be covered by Mass Health. It would really suck to go this route since I do have savable teeth.

When I get the book on detoxifying I'll keep updated on how that goes.

Thanks Shawn for the links. I'll look over them. Sorry to hear about your situation and I hope we all can keep up with the battle.

The Jigsaw Foundation sounded like a great service. Too bad they ran out of funding. I wish there were more places such as those.

I truly believe a part of the government, the FDA and ADA should be accountable and pay restitution to those sick from these fillings. A part of them are the cause of the problems because they are throwing around "safety" and "legal to use" just to keep face and avoid lawsuits.