Yesterday I pulled out a chart of my teeth that a previous dentist had supplied me with. It showed what my teeth were like before the revision process started a year ago. It's a very detailed computer drawing, showing all of my fillings, root canals, and crowns. Wow, have things changed!
I've had 11 teeth worked on so far, and 8 more to go. All 11 teeth contained amalgam fillings. 9 of them now are shiny composites, the other two have had root canals, and both will eventually need to be removed. Those two are included in the 8 still needing work. The other 6 teeth are precious metal crowns with amalgam underneath, and 3 of these teeth are root canaled and will need to be extracted. Who would have thought so much can happen in such a small area of the body!
After going over this chart and seeing where my problems still exist, I think I have come up with a good plan for the next groupings of revisions, and it should take four phases. Hopefully my dentist will agree and we can get started as soon as possible so that I can have the bad RC (root canal) extracted right away. Two days ago I had an email second opinion done with the dentist from Minneapolis about the tooth in question, and he's willing to help me in any way he can if my dentist doesn't do what I feel I need done for my health. I'm really relieved to know I have him to fall back on. He also said he would talk to my dentist (since he knows him) about RC's to see if he can be of some help in that way. I'm trying to be patient and give him a few days to do that before I call my dentist and tell him I'm ready for my next revision, but I seem to be feeling a little worse each day and don't know how much longer I can put up with this.
In the process of talking to the dentist from Minneapolis, I learned of a new type of implant that can be done for fake permanent teeth that isn't as intrusive to the bone as titanium. It's a zirconium implant, much like porcelain. According to this file, the FDA may have approved it for the U.S. now, but I'm not exactly sure. The dentist encouraged me to go to Germany to have them implanted, though!
I have another list of websites available for your own research.
http://herballure.com/HotTopics/MyMercuryStory.html
http://herballure.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB19
http://community.tri-cityherald.com/?q=node/526/12195#comment-12195
http://www.positivehealth.com/article-view.php?articleid=489
http://www.positivehealth.com/article-view.php?articleid=488
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=17498
http://curezone.com/dental/mercury_symptoms.asp
http://community.tri-cityherald.com/?q=node/526
http://www.iaomt.org/news/archive.asp?intReleaseID=240
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfVsUuhoFWY&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA&mode=related&search=
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2001/may2001_report_mercury_1.html
http://www.positivehealth.com/article-abstract.php?articleid=495
http://talkinternational.com/detoxification.html
http://www.kitchendoctor.com/articles/cilantro.html
http://www.positivehealth.com/article-view.php?articleid=503
Thanks to Sparky for these!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Ten Steps Back
It actually has been a long week since my last post. By the next day, my neck tightened up again, my head started hurting really bad, and I had irritability beyond what I've been used to. I also have been having dizzy spells a lot as well. It has lasted all week, and things are barely at a comfortable range today.
Over the weekend, Sparky (thank you, Sparky!) and I had some time to search some more websites with a lot of good information on them. One is a video of an extracted tooth with amalgam still in it. The video shows the tooth held by a special screen (they explain what it is) and rub the tooth with different instruments. It shows the amount of vapor the tooth lets go of with each rub or scrape. I was sickened as I watched it just thinking how much mercury I was spewing out before I had the amalgam removed every time I opened my mouth!
Tooth vapor
Curezone frequently asked questions
More frequently asked questions...
dental amalgam
a forum on amalgam
another forum on amalgam
curezone
curezone root canal
I also read over the weekend the introduction to Hal Huggins website under the heading "Setting it Straight". It seems that my reading and research hasn't even begun to hit the surface of the protocol in which to take in amalgam removal, and I've read two of Mr. Huggins' books. According to this article he writes, I should have had all of my amalgam removed within a month's time in order to do it properly, as long as I don't have any work done on consecutive 7 day cycles (more on this in his book "It's All In Your Head"). He says the likelihood of recovery is not as good if this is not followed. I'm a little discouraged to say the least that I didn't know about this before. I certainly would have made arrangements to have it all done as soon as possible if I knew that. I was under the assumption from reading elsewhere that it should be done one filling at a time, and over a period of time. I thought I was in danger of moving along too fast by having two and three, sometimes four done at a time. I don't know what my prognosis is now that I didn't do it the way Huggins encourages. It, along with my root canaled teeth, could be why I'm still struggling so much now.
I also am discouraged to find no other alternatives for root canals. Having any type of metal implant put into the bone structure of the jaw if a dead tooth is removed is not any better than having amalgam in the teeth. Bridges aren't any better as they also need to use metal to give stability to the tooth. But having the root canal is the worst! So now what? I have no idea, and I am frustrated beyond belief. If any of you are doing your own research and find anything, would you be willing to share? Please post a comment with your information so others can see what you've found as well. Thanks.
Over the weekend, Sparky (thank you, Sparky!) and I had some time to search some more websites with a lot of good information on them. One is a video of an extracted tooth with amalgam still in it. The video shows the tooth held by a special screen (they explain what it is) and rub the tooth with different instruments. It shows the amount of vapor the tooth lets go of with each rub or scrape. I was sickened as I watched it just thinking how much mercury I was spewing out before I had the amalgam removed every time I opened my mouth!
Tooth vapor
Curezone frequently asked questions
More frequently asked questions...
dental amalgam
a forum on amalgam
another forum on amalgam
curezone
curezone root canal
I also read over the weekend the introduction to Hal Huggins website under the heading "Setting it Straight". It seems that my reading and research hasn't even begun to hit the surface of the protocol in which to take in amalgam removal, and I've read two of Mr. Huggins' books. According to this article he writes, I should have had all of my amalgam removed within a month's time in order to do it properly, as long as I don't have any work done on consecutive 7 day cycles (more on this in his book "It's All In Your Head"). He says the likelihood of recovery is not as good if this is not followed. I'm a little discouraged to say the least that I didn't know about this before. I certainly would have made arrangements to have it all done as soon as possible if I knew that. I was under the assumption from reading elsewhere that it should be done one filling at a time, and over a period of time. I thought I was in danger of moving along too fast by having two and three, sometimes four done at a time. I don't know what my prognosis is now that I didn't do it the way Huggins encourages. It, along with my root canaled teeth, could be why I'm still struggling so much now.
I also am discouraged to find no other alternatives for root canals. Having any type of metal implant put into the bone structure of the jaw if a dead tooth is removed is not any better than having amalgam in the teeth. Bridges aren't any better as they also need to use metal to give stability to the tooth. But having the root canal is the worst! So now what? I have no idea, and I am frustrated beyond belief. If any of you are doing your own research and find anything, would you be willing to share? Please post a comment with your information so others can see what you've found as well. Thanks.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Some Snippets
Other than feeling dead-tired from lack of sleep (due to Sparky's cold of recent), I have been doing better over the past few days. I saw my doctor on Saturday and he did a different procedure on my jaw to help calm it down, using a machine that sends pulses of electricity through some pads held to my cheeks. He also adjusted my neck since it was bothering me again, and he was able to make that feel a little better, too. I still feel achiness in the neck and jaw, but it's a little more tolerable now. My doctor is wanting me to try to calm the tooth down even more by putting eye-droppers of swedish bitters on it at bedtime and brush with liquid stevia (sunectar/sunnydew). I was able to start the swedish bitters since I had some of that, but I won't have liquid stevia for a few days because I need to order it.
We also asked my doctor what causes the irritability I struggle with pretty often. He said that the irritability is actually a good sign that my body is trying to detox the mercury out. He said the only other way would be through fever, and he said this is the best way for it to come out, so he's glad to hear when I am irritable but does understand the frustration I feel since it's so bothersome. It's kind of strange to think I should be happy when I'm irritable!
I was reminded of another thing to share - about mercury being the possible culprit for premature grey hair. I started going grey in my late 20's. My head is peppered with silver strands now, but Sparky noticed during the weekend that I had a multicolored strand of hair he found on my shoulder (my hair falls out easily now, and thinning at a rapid rate). It reminded me of something that I learned in my research...I'm thinking it's in the Andrew Hall Cutler book - about hair greying at young ages due to amalgam. I don't recall however, if it it mentions anything about reversing itself once the amalgam is removed. The strand was silver on the bottom, and my natural color near the root. Methinks it's a possibility my hair could possibly reverse back to it's natural light brown when the amalgam is completely gone. Hmmmm.....it will be interesting to see in about a year from now.
We also asked my doctor what causes the irritability I struggle with pretty often. He said that the irritability is actually a good sign that my body is trying to detox the mercury out. He said the only other way would be through fever, and he said this is the best way for it to come out, so he's glad to hear when I am irritable but does understand the frustration I feel since it's so bothersome. It's kind of strange to think I should be happy when I'm irritable!
I was reminded of another thing to share - about mercury being the possible culprit for premature grey hair. I started going grey in my late 20's. My head is peppered with silver strands now, but Sparky noticed during the weekend that I had a multicolored strand of hair he found on my shoulder (my hair falls out easily now, and thinning at a rapid rate). It reminded me of something that I learned in my research...I'm thinking it's in the Andrew Hall Cutler book - about hair greying at young ages due to amalgam. I don't recall however, if it it mentions anything about reversing itself once the amalgam is removed. The strand was silver on the bottom, and my natural color near the root. Methinks it's a possibility my hair could possibly reverse back to it's natural light brown when the amalgam is completely gone. Hmmmm.....it will be interesting to see in about a year from now.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Post-Dental Work Issues
It's been a rough week. I'm still having issues with my neck, but not as bad as over the weekend. I went and saw my chiropractor on Tuesday, and she was amazed as to how many problems I'm having with my neck as of late. I used to see her every three weeks. Now it's up to weekly. She encouraged me to try talking with my dentist again to get the tooth pulled, even if it meant asking for help from the dentist in the cities that referred me to him. I'm considering doing it, but haven't as of yet since my week has been on the busy side, as well as I'm dealing with some extreme irritability again. The last two days have been terrible. I wish I knew what the trigger was so that I could try avoiding it if at all possible. Is it a food that I react to? Is it hormones? Is it chemicals? Is it not enough sun (vitamin D)? Or is it just the fact that I still have toxic metal in my mouth?
I just remembered recently some other things I read that can be done to detox the body of mercury, and it's good for anyone to do. Epsom salt baths. As hot as you can handle it. Enjoy a good soak with a cup (or two) of epsom salt added to the tub. Stay in there until the water gets cool.
Another good thing is to sweat it out - steam baths and saunas are great....even an extreme workout does wonders for getting the mercury out. Just make sure you shower immediately after. If you let the sweat dry on you, the mercury seeps right back in the pores.
I haven't been able to find any other foods right now besides garlic, onion, cilantro, and sweet potatoes that are great natural detoxifiers. Not that there aren't any others, I just haven't had time to look. I will hopefully have more time next week to do some searching and see if there is anything else.
I hope what I've shared so far on my blog has helped someone, whether it's realizing that symptoms you deal with on a regular basis is on the list of things helped by mercury removal and now you are thinking about revisions, or it's just a good source of information to help you to make decisions on what type of fillings you get put in your teeth (or your children's teeth). And please, please, do your own research if you ever question what your dentist (or your doctor for that matter) wants to do. You have a right to informed consent.
I just remembered recently some other things I read that can be done to detox the body of mercury, and it's good for anyone to do. Epsom salt baths. As hot as you can handle it. Enjoy a good soak with a cup (or two) of epsom salt added to the tub. Stay in there until the water gets cool.
Another good thing is to sweat it out - steam baths and saunas are great....even an extreme workout does wonders for getting the mercury out. Just make sure you shower immediately after. If you let the sweat dry on you, the mercury seeps right back in the pores.
I haven't been able to find any other foods right now besides garlic, onion, cilantro, and sweet potatoes that are great natural detoxifiers. Not that there aren't any others, I just haven't had time to look. I will hopefully have more time next week to do some searching and see if there is anything else.
I hope what I've shared so far on my blog has helped someone, whether it's realizing that symptoms you deal with on a regular basis is on the list of things helped by mercury removal and now you are thinking about revisions, or it's just a good source of information to help you to make decisions on what type of fillings you get put in your teeth (or your children's teeth). And please, please, do your own research if you ever question what your dentist (or your doctor for that matter) wants to do. You have a right to informed consent.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
No Silver Lining in the Clouds for Me...
Two days ago I had my four upper right teeth revised. I now sport teeth with no silver showing, which sure is nice. The procedure took a couple of hours since there were various amalgam fillings in the four teeth, but it did go well. My dentist did not find any teeth that were decayed terribly that needed extra work, and that I was thankful for. Since then, I haven't felt very well however, but that's half-way to be expected. Some people either feel really good after a revision, or they settle into a couple of weeks of feeling really bad. I unfortunately think I got the latter.
I also am still having problems with the root canaled tooth, and I have a feeling it's causing the problems I feel in the back of my head and into my neck. The dentist shaved the upper tooth down some more when I was there again, but I don't think it did much good since I am still waking up at night with my teeth clenched and that tooth throbbing. I don't think he can do much more, because when he was taking some tooth away this last time, I started feeling some pain which has got to mean he's getting pretty close to the nerve.
One good thing that I think has come out of this last revision already is that my sense of smell is coming back. Not that I knew I lost it, but I have been able to smell more aromas these last two days more than I have in years. It's been surprising. I haven't noticed much change in taste, but it could possibly be too early yet to notice. And knowing that I still have amalgam under the four crowns could certainly give some answers to why some senses still aren't right. My vision is certainly off again, but differently than before. I'm not getting the fish-bowl wobbly effect any more...it's more or less a blurry-ing effect in a way, although it seems like I can see really well far away (with my contacts in) which seemed to be a problem before. I have had myopia since I was about thirteen, and within the last five years I was diagnosed with keratoconus (a "coning" of the cornea), although the eye doctor told me at last year's check-up she was amazed because the keratoconus had almost disappeared - which was unheard of. I haven't been back in yet this year to see if anything has changed.
I am learning from this experience to never have another root canal done. Unfortunately I'm not real sure how I'm going to get the four extracted that I already have. I am getting the feeling from my conversations with my dentist that he trusts in root canals as the answer since he hasn't done any of his own research on it, but as I've been learning from books and other sources that it does more harm than good. If you're wondering more about root canals, I'll refer you back to my "Root Canals, the Ugly" post that has a website that discusses this topic. You'll also find more information on root canals in Hal Huggins books, "Uninformed Consent" and "It's All in Your Head". You can also search "root canals" on the internet and get a lot of information there.
I also am still having problems with the root canaled tooth, and I have a feeling it's causing the problems I feel in the back of my head and into my neck. The dentist shaved the upper tooth down some more when I was there again, but I don't think it did much good since I am still waking up at night with my teeth clenched and that tooth throbbing. I don't think he can do much more, because when he was taking some tooth away this last time, I started feeling some pain which has got to mean he's getting pretty close to the nerve.
One good thing that I think has come out of this last revision already is that my sense of smell is coming back. Not that I knew I lost it, but I have been able to smell more aromas these last two days more than I have in years. It's been surprising. I haven't noticed much change in taste, but it could possibly be too early yet to notice. And knowing that I still have amalgam under the four crowns could certainly give some answers to why some senses still aren't right. My vision is certainly off again, but differently than before. I'm not getting the fish-bowl wobbly effect any more...it's more or less a blurry-ing effect in a way, although it seems like I can see really well far away (with my contacts in) which seemed to be a problem before. I have had myopia since I was about thirteen, and within the last five years I was diagnosed with keratoconus (a "coning" of the cornea), although the eye doctor told me at last year's check-up she was amazed because the keratoconus had almost disappeared - which was unheard of. I haven't been back in yet this year to see if anything has changed.
I am learning from this experience to never have another root canal done. Unfortunately I'm not real sure how I'm going to get the four extracted that I already have. I am getting the feeling from my conversations with my dentist that he trusts in root canals as the answer since he hasn't done any of his own research on it, but as I've been learning from books and other sources that it does more harm than good. If you're wondering more about root canals, I'll refer you back to my "Root Canals, the Ugly" post that has a website that discusses this topic. You'll also find more information on root canals in Hal Huggins books, "Uninformed Consent" and "It's All in Your Head". You can also search "root canals" on the internet and get a lot of information there.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
More Work
I just realized it's been over a week since I posted. It's been busy around here, plus we had taken a family trip over the weekend.
I don't know how much the antibiotics are working. The tooth still is achy. I notice I clench my teeth at night now, and my whole jaw hurts in the morning when I wake up. My head doesn't hurt as much as it did, but my neck is still showing signs of mis-alignment and sore muscles. Irritability came on strong last night as well. I do have to say that the weekend was good however, and symptoms were minimal, which made our trip go a lot smoother than anticipated.
I will go in again to the dentist this week for my next round of revisions. This time he'll be removing the amalgam out of 4 teeth on my upper right side. These are the last of the amalgam fillings. The rest of the amalgam is hidden under crowns, so I have a ways to go yet since there are for sure 3 (possibly 4) crowns that will need to be replaced one at a time over a span of about 2-3 months each time. Not only is cost a factor since each crown revision is going to run about $1000 (and our insurance most likely won't cover any of it), but for health reasons, too, that it will take that long. The body really needs time to heal in between revisions. I certainly would like it all out at once, but it just wouldn't be wise. Having four teeth worked on this week is actually pretty risky, but my dentist insists on doing quadrants instead of tooth by tooth, and this area has the most work needing to be done. This will be the most I've had done in one sitting, so I'm sure to feel some effects from it in the weeks to come.
One important thing to think about if you are considering having your amalgams removed is finding a dentist who will take them out right. He/She needs to use dental dams, plenty of water, and a source of fresh air for the patient. He/She also needs to use a special technique of drilling so as not to introduce more mercury in the air or into your body than necessary. There is a dentist in Minneapolis who specializes in amalgam removal, and he may know of others in your area that would do comparable work for you. His email address is kingtooth@juno.com. His website (which I have mentioned in a previous post) is http://www.kingtooth.com/index.html
(If you know me and live near me and want to see my dentist who does amalgam removal properly, I'd be more than happy to supply you with his name and phone number).
I know I still haven't gotten the list of foods together yet that help with detoxification. I apologize. I will get that on here as soon as I can. I was busier last week than I expected I would be!
I don't know how much the antibiotics are working. The tooth still is achy. I notice I clench my teeth at night now, and my whole jaw hurts in the morning when I wake up. My head doesn't hurt as much as it did, but my neck is still showing signs of mis-alignment and sore muscles. Irritability came on strong last night as well. I do have to say that the weekend was good however, and symptoms were minimal, which made our trip go a lot smoother than anticipated.
I will go in again to the dentist this week for my next round of revisions. This time he'll be removing the amalgam out of 4 teeth on my upper right side. These are the last of the amalgam fillings. The rest of the amalgam is hidden under crowns, so I have a ways to go yet since there are for sure 3 (possibly 4) crowns that will need to be replaced one at a time over a span of about 2-3 months each time. Not only is cost a factor since each crown revision is going to run about $1000 (and our insurance most likely won't cover any of it), but for health reasons, too, that it will take that long. The body really needs time to heal in between revisions. I certainly would like it all out at once, but it just wouldn't be wise. Having four teeth worked on this week is actually pretty risky, but my dentist insists on doing quadrants instead of tooth by tooth, and this area has the most work needing to be done. This will be the most I've had done in one sitting, so I'm sure to feel some effects from it in the weeks to come.
One important thing to think about if you are considering having your amalgams removed is finding a dentist who will take them out right. He/She needs to use dental dams, plenty of water, and a source of fresh air for the patient. He/She also needs to use a special technique of drilling so as not to introduce more mercury in the air or into your body than necessary. There is a dentist in Minneapolis who specializes in amalgam removal, and he may know of others in your area that would do comparable work for you. His email address is kingtooth@juno.com. His website (which I have mentioned in a previous post) is http://www.kingtooth.com/index.html
(If you know me and live near me and want to see my dentist who does amalgam removal properly, I'd be more than happy to supply you with his name and phone number).
I know I still haven't gotten the list of foods together yet that help with detoxification. I apologize. I will get that on here as soon as I can. I was busier last week than I expected I would be!
Monday, August 13, 2007
An Update
I got to see my dentist today. I told him all that was going on, and he decided first off he'd adjust my bite to see if that would relieve the problem. He said that the pain I'm feeling in the neck and head sounds like muscle spasms caused by the bite being off (he suggested taking some anti-inflammatories, or talking to my doctor to see if he had a suggestion to relieve the muscle aches).
They also took x-rays, and he said that even though he could find nothing different between the previous x-ray (done just after the root canal) and this one, he said there is a small possibility it could have infection. He thought maybe doing a round of antibiotics again would be helpful, and prescribed clindamycin (the same antibiotic I was on for the infected root canaled tooth in May), thinking that if there is any infection it would cut it back. He said if things don't settle down by the time I see him for my other dental work, he'd refer me to an endodontist to see what else can be done. I asked him about the possibility of pulling the tooth if it's found to be infected, and he showed me on the x-rays that I have one and a half teeth relying on that tooth for chewing, so it wouldn't be wise to remove it.
I'm not sure where this is all going to put me in a couple of weeks, but my doctor said to start the antibiotics since that seems to be the only option right now. From what I have read, antibiotics will not be able to penetrate the tooth to get inside and kill anything that's going on in there, so if it is an infection this will only be a temporary reprieve.
They also took x-rays, and he said that even though he could find nothing different between the previous x-ray (done just after the root canal) and this one, he said there is a small possibility it could have infection. He thought maybe doing a round of antibiotics again would be helpful, and prescribed clindamycin (the same antibiotic I was on for the infected root canaled tooth in May), thinking that if there is any infection it would cut it back. He said if things don't settle down by the time I see him for my other dental work, he'd refer me to an endodontist to see what else can be done. I asked him about the possibility of pulling the tooth if it's found to be infected, and he showed me on the x-rays that I have one and a half teeth relying on that tooth for chewing, so it wouldn't be wise to remove it.
I'm not sure where this is all going to put me in a couple of weeks, but my doctor said to start the antibiotics since that seems to be the only option right now. From what I have read, antibiotics will not be able to penetrate the tooth to get inside and kill anything that's going on in there, so if it is an infection this will only be a temporary reprieve.
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