Reply #2: You've been listening to quacks. amalgam is extremely unstable.

[philb]

Anyone with amalgam is documented to get high exposure to mercury. Dental amalgam is by far the largest source of
mercury in those with mercury amalgam fillings. Its well documented those with amalgam have exposure levels 10 times
that of those without, on average. And for some 100 times as well. There's concensus on that in the medical literature, so
where do you get your info??

1. Dental amalgam is the largest source of mercury in most people who have amalgam fillings and exposure is commonly more than U.S. Gov't health standards (FS1)

2. Dental amalgam is often the largest source of methyl mercury in people who have amalgam fillings (FS1)

3. Prior to amalgam replacement, those with amalgam have average mercury levels in feces and saliva 10 times those without amalgam (FS1)

4. After amalgam replacement, mercury levels in feces and saliva decline by 90% while mercury in urine is reduced by an average of 75% (FS1)


FS1 http://www.home.earthlink.net/~berniew1/damspr1.html

Medical Study Abstracts- FS1
Dental amalgam fillings and the amount of organic mercury in human saliva. Caries Res. 2001 May-Jun;35(3):163-6.

Leistevuo J, Leistevuo T, Helenius H, Pyy L, Osterblad M, Huovinen P, Tenovuo J.

The National Public Health Institute, Antimicrobial Research Laboratory, Turku University, Turku, Finland.

We studied differences in the amounts of organic and inorganic mercury in saliva samples between amalgam and nonamalgam human study groups. The amount of organic and inorganic mercury in whole saliva was measured in 187 adult study subjects. The mercury contents were determined by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The amount of organic and inorganic mercury in paraffin-stimulated saliva was significantly higher (p<0.001) in subjects with dental amalgam fillings (n = 88) compared to the nonamalgam study groups (n = 43 and n = 56): log(e) (organic mercury) was linearly related to log(e) (inorganic mercury, r(2) = 0.52). Spearman correlation coefficients of inorganic and organic mercury concentrations with the number of amalgam-filled tooth surfaces were 0.46 and 0.27, respectively.
In the study of a group with amalgams, a group without amalgams, and a group that had undergone amalgam replacement- using saliva mercury measurements, it was concluded that amalgam is the main source of organic mercury in most people. Those with amalgams on average had more than 4 times as much organic mercury as either group without amalgam. Those with amalgam had over 10 times the total mercury as those without. And mercury from fish was controlled for in the study and not a factor in these results. Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that amalgam fillings may be a continuous source of organic mercury, which is more toxic than inorganic mercury, and almost completely absorbed by the human intestine.

Exposure to methylmercury in non-fish-eating people in Sweden. Environ Res. 2004 Sep;96(1):28-33.
Lindberg A, Bjornberg KA, Vahter M, Berglund M.
Division of Metals and Health, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.

The extensive use of fish meal as a source of protein for poultry and swine may lead to additional exposure to methylmercury (MeHg). We determined the concentration of MeHg and inorganic mercury (I-Hg) in blood and total mercury (T-Hg) in hair in 27 persons (9 men and 18 women, 20-58 years of age) who stated that they had consumed no fish for a period of 2 years or more. The participants answered a food frequency questionnaire and reported their number of dental amalgam fillings. The MeHg concentrations in blood (median, 0.10 microg/L; range, 0.0-1.0 microg/L) were very low and did not constitute a concern for health effects. We also analyzed selenium (Se) in serum. The median concentration was 76 microg/L (range, 53-103 microg/L), which is in agreement with previous studies of the Swedish general population, indicating that the Se status of non-fish-eating individuals is not substantially lower than that of people who include fish in their diet. We found a significant association (P=0.002) between the number of dental amalgam fillings and the I-Hg concentration in blood (median, 0.09 microg/L; range, 0.03-0.57 microg/L). The T-Hg in hair (median, 0.06 mg/kg; range, 0.04-0.32 mg/kg) was significantly associated (R2=0.89; P<0.001) with the MeHg in blood, but not with the I-Hg in blood. Therefore, the T-Hg in hair seems to reflect MeHg exposure and not I-Hg exposure even in persons with no intake of fish
Mercury in saliva and feces after removal of amalgam fillings.

Bjorkman L, Sandborgh-Englund G, Ekstrand J. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1997 May;144(1):156-62.

Department of Basic Oral Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

The toxicological consequences of exposure to mercury (Hg) from dental amalgam fillings is a matter of debate in several countries. The purpose of this study was to obtain data on Hg concentrations in saliva and feces before and after removal of dental amalgam fillings. In addition Hg concentrations in urine, blood, and plasma were determined. Ten subjects had all amalgam fillings removed at one dental session. Before removal, the median Hg concentration in feces was more than 10 times higher than in samples from an amalgam free reference group consisting of 10 individuals (2.7 vs 0.23 mumol Hg/kg dry weight, p < 0.001). A considerable increase of the Hg concentration in feces 2 days after amalgam removal (median 280 mumol Hg/kg dry weight) was followed by a significant decrease. Sixty days after removal the median Hg concentration was still slightly higher than in samples from the reference group(85% decline). In plasma, the median Hg concentration was 4 nmol/liter at baseline. Two days after removal the median Hg concentration in plasma was increased to 5 nmol/liter and declined subsequently to 1.3 nmol/liter by Day 60(65% decline). In saliva, there was an exponential decline in the Hg concentration during the first 2 weeks after amalgam removal (t 1/2 = 1.8 days). It was concluded that amalgam fillings are a significant source of Hg in saliva and feces. Hg levels in all media decrease considerably after amalgam removal..

Long-term mercury excretion in urine after removal of amalgam fillings.

Begerow J, Zander D, Freier I, Dunemann L.

Medizinisches Institut fur Umwelthygiene, Dusseldorf, Germany.

The long-term urinary mercury excretion was determined in 17 28- to 55-year-old persons before and at varying times (up to 14 months) after removal of all (4-24) dental amalgam fillings. Before removal the urinary mercury excretion correlated with the number of amalgam fillings. In the immediate post-removal phase (up to 6 days after removal) a mean increase of 30% was observed. Within 12 months the geometric mean of the mercury excretion was reduced by a factor of 5 from 1.44 micrograms/g (range: 0.57-4.38 micrograms/g) to 0.36 microgram/g (range: 0.13-0.88 microgram/g).
(75% decline)
After cessation of exposure to dental amalgam the mean half-life was 95 days. These results show that the release of mercury from dental amalgam contributes predominantly to the mercury exposure of non-occupationally exposed persons. The exposure from amalgam fillings thus exceeds the exposure from food, air and beverages. Within 12 months after removal of all amalgam fillings the participants showed substantially lower urinary mercury levels which were comparable to those found in subjects who have never had dental amalgam fillings

Doctor’s Data Lab http://www.doctorsdata.com/repository.asp?id=43

METALS mg/kg Reference RANGE 68th
Mercury <.05 w/o amalgams*
Mercury < .5 with amalgams*
Based on hundreds of thousands of tests in a medical lab, the average level of mercury in those with amalgam is 10 times that of the group without amalgam.