Safe removal of mercury fillings

[James-83]

Hey guys

I will be visiting Singapore in June to check out possibly relocating there and whilst on my trip I would like to get my mercury fillings removed.

I live in Thailand and I cant find a dentist who will remove them safely. Does anyone know of a practitioner in Simgapore who might be able to help....?

[JR8]

I visited Adeline Tan at Rochor Dental Clinic, and found then very professional and friendly. Unfortunately I have mislaid their card, but perhaps you could call and ask for their www. or e-mail address to put your question to a doctor?

p.s. or call and simply ask for Dr. Tan's e-mail address. She trained in the UK, so there will be no language barrier.

Oops! Edit to add:
http://www.identalcare.com.sg/clinicinfo/directory.asp

[James-83]

Thanks for the link and reply

Ive been searching all day and am still not having much luck. The removal of amalgam mercury fillings is extremely dangerous as the mercury can escape into your lungs which can cause all knd of problems.

Over here there doesn't seem to be anyone that is trained in the process so I thought perhaps Singapore might be able to help...perhaps even KL....?

[gf]

Thanks for the link and reply

Ive been searching all day and am still not having much luck. The removal of amalgam mercury fillings is extremely dangerous as the mercury can escape into your lungs which can cause all knd of problems.

Over here there doesn't seem to be anyone that is trained in the process so I thought perhaps Singapore might be able to help...perhaps even KL....?

Hi James
I'm a dentist and might be able to help with your query.

Removal of amalgam fillings is not really "extremely dangerous", as almost all dentists have the necessary equipment to remove such fillings. An appropriate high vacuum suction would remove most of the mercury vapour that you're concerned about.

If you are concerned, ask the dentist to place a "rubber dam" for you. Basically this acts as a barrier and protects your other teeth as well as prevents you from ingesting/inhaling any mercury.

I believe most dental practices and most dentists would be able to do that for you, it is relatively simple. In fact, you should be able to get that done in Thailand as well, not just in Singapore.

Hope this helps.
Cheers
GF

[James-83]

Thanks for your reply

I appreciate your advice and have also been researching this for about 6 months.

From what I understand the patient needs to be given 2000-3000mg of vitamin c or activated charcoal before starting the procedure. There should also be an alternative source of oxygen provided through the nose.

Like you say a high pressure vacuums should be used. The rubber dam should also to be put in place aswell as keeping the fillings cool during the removal.

Trying to find this in Thailand so far has been pretty difficult.

[gf]

Thanks for your reply

I appreciate your advice and have also been researching this for about 6 months.

From what I understand the patient needs to be given 2000-3000mg of vitamin c or activated charcoal before starting the procedure. There should also be an alternative source of oxygen provided through the nose.

Like you say a high pressure vacuums should be used. The rubber dam should also to be put in place aswell as keeping the fillings cool during the removal.

Trying to find this in Thailand so far has been pretty difficult.

Hi
There is no evidence that I know of, supporting taking vitamin C or activated charcoal before removal of amalgam. Like I said, there is minimal release of mercury vapour during removal of amalgams, and most is removed via a high pressure vacuum. A rubber dam would also prevent you from inhaling any of the materials.

The filling material will be kept cool as all the high speed handpieces (equipment that a dentist uses to remove the amalgam filling) comes with a water jet which cools the surface they are working on.

Just an additional point to add:
There is also currently no definitive evidence that you NEED to remove amalgam fillings due to mercury release. In the "set" state (hardened state in a filling), the mercury in amalgams hardly leaches out from the amalgam fillings. Of course, there may be other compelling reasons to replace amalgam fillings (defective fillings, unaesthetic colour etc), but if you're removing them SOLELY because you're worried about the mercury, there's actually very little evidence to support that thus far.

Having said all that, if you chose to replace your amalgam fillings, I'm sure a reputable dental clinic in Thailand would be able to do that. I don't think there's anything drastically different that a clinic in Singapore would do since it is a fairly simple procedure. Go to a reputable clinic though.

Cheers
GF

[James-83]

Hi

Thanks for your advice, I will definately have another look here and see what I can find.

Its not only because of the danger of mercury although that does play a huge part. Ever since I had them put in (about 6 years ago) I have suffered from migrains which I never experienced before.

The teeth they are in start to hurt then the headache comes on.

Whether or not this is the reason I cannot be 100% till I get them taken out.

My only worry is that the alternative to an amalgam is composite resin and that is supposed to constantly release small amounts of fluoride.

[JR8]

The same fluoride that you ingest every time you brush your teeth?

You're coming over as a little paranoid if I might say so.

[James-83]

I actually use a toothpaste fluoride free aswell as drinking water which is "suposedly" fluoride free. Unfortunately they got me on the shower bit though lol

Paranoid, maybe so at times but researching the facts rather than believing the profiters or their allies in the media is more than a contributing factor.


http://www.wqad.com/news/rock-island-ha ... 0527.story

http://rense.com/general93/fluo.htm

[sundaymorningstaple]

Don't breath air either then. Lot's of crap in air that's not good for you either. things like Oxygen. Oxygen can kill you just like fluoride if you get too much of a good thing. Most things that are good for you are only good for you in small quantities. That's why the body needs "trace" elements but in larger quantities they can also be harmful.

Just what we need, another conspiracy theorist.

[gf]

I actually use a toothpaste fluoride free aswell as drinking water which is "suposedly" fluoride free. Unfortunately they got me on the shower bit though lol

Paranoid, maybe so at times but researching the facts rather than believing the profiters or their allies in the media is more than a contributing factor.


http://www.wqad.com/news/rock-island-ha ... 0527.story

http://rense.com/general93/fluo.htm

ah now we're going into more stuff. Hope I can help to clear some myths/confusion here.

For your 1st post regarding your amalgams causing headaches, there is currently no definitive evidence linking amalgams causing headaches, BUT yours is not the 1st reported case either. Meaning while we do not know that your amalgams are the cause of headaches, we can't say for sure that they arent the cause either.

As for the fluoride part, there is actually a huge international debate with regards to fluoride. Most countries around accept that small quantities of fluoride is good for lowering the decay rates within a population. (Like what SMS said, small quantities!) Singapore's water is fluoridated as well, and over the years it has been shown to rather drastically, reduce the rate of caries formation within our population.

While there are several "anti-fluoride" guys out there, there is also pretty strong evidence that low levels of fluoride in our drinking water is safe and effective in combating decay at the population level.

[James-83]

Thanks for your advice Dr.

Regarding being a conspiracy theorist could you perhaps point out anything Ive guessed on...? Maybe you don't agree and maybe there are two sides of the story but there is nothing conspirative about what I've posted.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Maybe taking a single chemical spill at a single water plant and determining that fluoridated water all over the world is bad for you?

[JR8]

I skimmed the article on fluoride.... hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo , man that is seriously batty stuff written by a person with no apparent academic qualifications. And you er, believe it?!

[James-83]

Maybe taking a single chemical spill at a single water plant and determining that fluoridated water all over the world is bad for you?

How do you know thats all I have used to determine....???

Lol very funny, I have a picture just like it on my wall, oh no hold on that's a mirror.

Seriously though have a look into fluoride, just to get both sides of the story.

The reason I used those two articles was because they were the most recent two I'd watched and read. Agreed the paper is a bit too opinionated but really, there are reports like this all the time.

Everyone does what they do to live happy in life and if you're cool with using then good luck to ya