Detoxification for mercury dental fillings can be tricky. The health of an estimated 122 million Americans is put at risk from mercury dental fillings, claims a 2011 risk assessment. Mark Richardson, a former Health Canada scientist who led the study, explains that the levels of mercury in dental fillings exceeds California’s safety environmental laws. If it was a toxic waste site, those responsible would be liable to clean it up, however, there is no such protection for our health when it comes mercury filings.
The FDA allowed mercury compounds to be grandfathered in rather than requiring clinical testing for safety. For the last one-hundred and sixty years, the dangerous metal has been used worldwide in dental fillings, but the danger isn’t simply to the individual getting the filling.
Babies and fetuses are at risk, says the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Not only does the toxin pass through the mother’s system to a fetus, it may also be passed through breast milk.
Mercury detoxification is challenging while the mercury stays in the system. The best option is to have the fillings safely removed. Colorado-based Quicksilver Scientific LLC has found ways to test for mercury in people’s bodies. The tests can differentiate between different mercury sources, but more importantly, avoid mercury fillings in the first place.
