Oral galvanism and Electromagnetic Fields(EMF):
factors along with mercury's high volatility and extreme toxicity in
significant exposure levels and oral effects from amalgam fillings. B.
Windham(Ed.)
Having dissimilar metals in the teeth
(e.g.-amalgam, or gold and mercury, or stainless steel and mercury) causes
galvanic action, electrical currents, and much higher mercury vapor levels and
levels in oral tissues. (1-11,30) The amount of
mercury released into saliva has been found by large studies to be about 1.5 to
1.9 micrograms per liter for each additional amalgam filling (26). The amount
of mercury released by a gold alloy bridge over amalgam over a 10 year period
was measured to be approx. 101 milligrams(mg)(60% of total) or 30 micrograms(ug) per day(7), and other studies have found similar
results( 4). Average mercury levels in gum tissue near amalgam fillings are
about 200 ppm, and are the result of flow of mercury
into the mucous membrane because of galvanic currents with the mucous membrane
serving as cathode and amalgam metals as anode(1-4).
Concentrations of mercury in oral mucosa for a population of patients with 6 or
more amalgam fillings taken during oral surgery were 20 times the level of
controls(14), and levels in root tips of 41 ppm(5).
Amalgam also releases significant amounts of silver, tin, and copper which also
have toxic effects, with organic tin compounds formed in the body being even
more neurotoxic than inorganic mercury. Amalgam
containing zinc produced higher galvanic currents(3b).
Mercury and other metals accumulate in the oral
cavity in fibroblasts, macrophages, and multinuclear giant cells of connective
tissue, in blood vessel walls, along nerve sheath fibres,
in basement-membranes of mucosal epithelium, striated muscle fibres, along collagen bundles and elastic tissue, in acini of salivary glands, and in tooth roots and jaw
bones(5,11). Such mercury including that in the commonly formed amalgam tattoos
moves to other parts of the body over time in significant amounts and more
rapidly than the other metals. Macrophages remove mercury by phagocytosis and the mercury moves to other parts of the
body through the blood and along nerves(5). Most
dentists are not aware of the main source of amalgam tattoos, oral galvanism,
where electric currents caused by mixed metals in the mouth take the metals
into the gums and oral mucosa, accumulating at the base of teeth with large
fillings or metal crowns over amalgam base(1-5). Such metals are documented to cause local and
systemic lesions and health effects, which usually recover after removal of the
amalgam tattoo by surgery(5fghi). The high levels of accumulated mercury also
are dispersed to other parts of the body.
Amalgam fillings produce electrical currents which increase mercury
vapor release and may have other harmful effects(1-14,38).
These currents are measured in micro amps, with some measured at over 5 micro
amps. A clinic with considerable experience dealing with problems of oral
galvanism found that currents over 5 microamps
usually cause significant health problems such as headaches, migraines, dizzyness, nausea,etc.
which was eliminated when amalgam fillings were replaced.. The central nervous system operates on
signals in the range of nano-amps, which is 1000
times less than a micro amp(38). The metals also have electrical potentials
which can be measured in millivolts(mV). One clinical
study determined that electrical potential differences of over 50 mV were
pathological(9b), causing galvanism, leukoplakia, oral lichen planus, or toxic or allergic reactions to restorations(9a,1-8). In most subjects with amalgam fillings, potential
differences of more than 50 mV are present between restorations(9a), with
potentials ranging from -417 mV to +150 mV. Negative potentials may be more
pathological than positive ones. The average potential for metal crowns and bridges
was
154 mV and for brace brackets was 71 mV(9a).
Negatively charged fillings or crowns push electrons into the oral
cavity since saliva is a good electrolyte and cause higher mercury vapor losses(11,1-6). Patients with autoimmune conditions like MS,
or epilepsy, depression, etc. are often found to have a lot of high negative
current fillings(11). The Huggins total dental revision(TDR) protocol calls for teeth with the highest
negative charge to be replaced first(11). Other protocols for amalgam removal
are available from international dental associations like IAOMT(45)
and mercury poisoned patients organizations like DAMS(46). For these reasons it
is important that no new gold dental work be placed in the mouth until at least
6 months after replacement.
Some studies have also found persons with chronic exposure to
electromagnetic fields(EMF), microwaves, or MRIs to have higher levels of mercury exposure and
excretion(33c,38,48). Such fields are known to induce current in metals and
would increase the effects of galvanism. EMF is also documented in animal and
human studies to cause cellular calcium efflux and affect calcium homeostasis
(39,40), which may be a factor in the reduction of
melatonin levels caused by EMF exposure in animal and human studies(40,41). In
studies on chicks this had significant adverse effects on viability of embryos
and chicks. Melatonin is known to be protective against mercury and free
radical activity, as well as regulating the circadian rhythm cycle and sleep
cycle. EMF exposure lowers melatonin production and disrupts
the sleep cycle(41). Since mercury is known to have
some of these same effects and EMF exposure increases mercury exposure in those
with amalgam, it is not clear in humans the relative role of the causality
mechanisms. Occupational exposure to higher levels of EMF have also been found
in many studies to result in much higher risk of chronic degenerative
neurological conditions such as ALS(42), Alzheimer's Disease (43,33c), as well
as Leukemia and Cancer(44,47,33c). Pooled analysis of 3,247 cases of childhood
leukemia in
Studies have shown that mercury in the gums such as from root caps for
root canaled teeth or "amalgam tattoos"
result in chronic inflammation, in addition to migration to other parts of the body(5,10,15). Mercury, tin, and silver from amalgam
fillings can be seen in the tissues as amalgam "tattoos", which have
been found to accumulate in the oral mucosa as granules along collagen bundles,
blood vessels, nerve sheaths, elastic fibers, membranes, striated muscle
fibers, and acini of minor salivary glands(5,10). Dark granules are also present intracellularly within macrophasges,
multinucleated giant cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. There is in
most cases chronic inflammatory response or macrophagic
reaction the the metals(5,30),
usually in the form of a foreign body granuloma with
multinucleated giant cells of the foreign body and Langhans
types. Mercury levels are often over 1000 ppm near a
gold cap on an amalgam filling due to higher currents when gold is in contact
with amalgam (8,9c,11,12,13). Similar levels as high as 5000 ppm have been found by German oral surgeons in jaw bone
under large fillings or gold crowns(37). These levels
are among the highest levels ever measured in tissues of living organisms,
exceeding the highest levels found in chronically exposed chloralkali
workers, those who died in Minamata, or animals that
died from mercury poisoning(29). The FDA Action Level
for mercury in fish or food is 1 ppm. Warnings are
given at 0.5 ppm, and the EPA health criterion level
is 0.3 ppm.
Some of the oral effects of mercury that have been documented include
gingivitis, oral lesions, pain and discomfort, burning mouth, "metal
mouth", chronic inflammatory response, leukoplakia,
lichen planus, autoimmune response, oral cancer,
trigeminal neuralgia, allergic reactions,
etc.(4,5,9a,11,15,19,22,23,25,26,30-35)
The component mix in amalgams has also been found to be an important
factor in mercury vapor emissions. The level of mercury and copper released
from high copper amalgam is as much as 50 times that of low copper amalgams(16). Studies have consistently found modern high
copper non gamma-two amalgams have greater release of mercury vapor than
conventional silver amalgams (17-21). While the non gamma-two amalgams were
developed to be less corrosive and less prone to marginal fractures than
conventional silver amalgams, they have been found to be unstable in a
different mechanism when subjected to wear/polishing/ chewing/ brushing: they
form droplets of mercury on the surface of the amalgams(3,23,24). This has been
found to be a factor in the much higher release of mercury vapor by the modern
non gamma-two amalgams. Recent studies have concluded that because of the high
mercury release levels of modern amalgams, mercury levels higher than Government
health guidelines are being transferred to the lungs, blood, brain, CNS,
kidneys, liver, etc. of large numbers of people with amalgam fillings and
widespread neurological, immune system, and endocrine system effects are occuring(25,26,27,28).
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