I've always been very wary of amalgam fillings, but the hazardous waste angle is a new one on me. Very interesting (very damning).

They have to put anything that comes from/in contact with any other humans in hazardous waste containers due to illnesses. You could have AIDS, strep, Avian Flu, whatever...they must dispose of these objects properly to prevent infections from spreading.

But yes, the mercury in the fillings are dangerous. There has been a long debate about this. You made a wise decision on having those removed.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
I've always been very wary of amalgam fillings, but the hazardous waste angle is a new one on me. Very interesting (very damning).

Thanks WyrdeOne. Many people don't question where things go, but I always do, if someone is taking something that belongs to me I want to know where it ends up. Most people just want to get in and out of the dentist as fast as they can. Same with the doctors.

Next time you go to the dentist ask to see the container they put the fillings in, some dentists say they recycle, but if they don't, it must go in the Hazardous Waste Bin, it looks a little bit like what they put disposable needles in.

Well, they are biohazard, because they could be infected with whatever you have - as has been said, but disposing of them is a touchy subject because they do contain mercury.

I imagine that the groundwater is more important than the health of an individual, but it still strikes me as odd...

Did you all know that most countries in Europe have banned Dental amalgams?

And that many governments in Europe are paying to have the amalgams removed.

hmm wonder why?

not knowing much at all about this, what are the white fillings made of?....do they also contain mercury?

I guess it depends what you mean by 'white' fillings.

You might be thinking of the ceramic ones - I don't know anything about their mercury content/toxicity, though I imagine they're much safer than the greyish-white amalgam type.

Of course gold seems like the best, but they're hard as Hell to get these days, and most insurers don't cover them (which sucks).

If anyone's putting any metal in my mouth, it had damn well better be gold.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
I guess it depends what you mean by 'white' fillings.

You might be thinking of the ceramic ones - I don't know anything about their mercury content/toxicity, though I imagine they're much safer than the greyish-white amalgam type.

Of course gold seems like the best, but they're hard as Hell to get these days, and most insurers don't cover them (which sucks).

If anyone's putting any metal in my mouth, it had damn well better be gold.

White fillings have zero mercury in them. They are a composite substance.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
If anyone's putting any metal in my mouth, it had damn well better be gold.

so what do people do when they have their fillings removed because of the mercury thing?....do they have an alternative put in, or just leave it altogether?

Another type of tooth-colored filling is called a resin ionomer, which releases fluoride useful for preventing tooth decay. I found this to be frightening as flouride is not healthy for our bodies, I especially do not want my teeth releasing it into my body. Sorry to stray off topic but I just found it to be scary how these people insert chemicals into our body through this manner, much like the amalgam filings.

I was concerned about this for a while, too. Then I found out that the alamgam is NOT elemental mercury. It's a compound made of other elements, this renders it safe, it's presumed.

Originally posted by dirty_underground
Another type of tooth-colored filling is called a resin ionomer, which releases fluoride useful for preventing tooth decay. I found this to be frightening as flouride is not healthy for our bodies, I especially do not want my teeth releasing it into my body. Sorry to stray off topic but I just found it to be scary how these people insert chemicals into our body through this manner, much like the amalgam filings.

No this is very important too. Did you know that we only need flouride when our teeth are developing and that it is useless after. My dentist told me this himself.

I did some research awhile back and found that people drinking flourinated water have a much more brittle bone content then ones that drink water from a well in the rural areas.

I don't remember the name of the study but what it said was people were sustaining more bone breakage, in the city, during low impact injury's as opposed to people sustaining the same type of impacts in the rural areas, drinking the well water that was not flourinated.

Also Florination does appear to reduce bone density.


So why if flouride is only good when teeth are developing are they putting it into the main water systems?

Well, I've had my mercury fillings for 40-some years and I feel fine.
My Dad is 77 and he's had his for years and he feels fine.
I have a 56 year-old hypochondriac sister who had hers removed years ago. She has a million other problems though.
To date, I don't know a single soul who has died of mercury related poisoning from fillings.
Removing these fillings will not cause immortality.
Until mine fall out, I'm not replacing them.

[edit on 4-2-2007 by rocknroll]

Originally posted by Realtruth
And why is it if there are so safe that they use rubber dams when extracting them?

They use rubber damns when putting crowns on too. Or when doing root canals. I believe it's just in case anything rolls down into your throat and chokes you to death. This is a good thing.

Originally posted by Realtruth
Mercury is mercury. It matters not what form it is in. Mercury is toxic.

Is drinking water like drinking hydrogen?

Think about it.