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.

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.

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!

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.

An Informative Website

I just found this today while searching for more natural detoxifying foods. It's a good read and has a LOT of great info. http://www.dreddyclinic.com/mercury_detox_procedures.htm . I don't necessarily subscribe to the thought that dmps and dmsa are needed for detoxification, and I think my doctor has the same opinion on them. It isn't a concern for me for at least another year until the amalgam is gone, however, but I believe my doctor will use other methods to get the job done. I do agree with the portions where garlic and cilantro are discussed. I have found many other sources that claim those are good binders of mercury and can help eliminate it from the body. Other great foods that I've read about helping bind and dispose of mercury are onions, sweet potatoes, and broccoli (which I'm avoiding right now since I don't want to disturb my remaining amalgams any more than they already are and have more mercury pulled through the body). I am not prepared yet to give a complete list, but after finding this website I thought I'd get it out there at least so that you'd have that information. I'm still compiling and will get it on here soon.

I'll be seeing the dentist today about the root canaled tooth. They want to take x-rays and see if they can see anything before they do any work. I will be strongly recommending extraction of the tooth, but I don't know if it will happen today since they're squeezing me in between patients.

Nutrition for Healthy Teeth

Welcome back to my campsite! Pull up a chair and sit a spell 'round the fire and I'll share a little life story.

How important is good nutrition for good dental health? Very important. There of course are other reasons that cause bad teeth (genetics, improper dental care, etc.), but nutrition in itself is a huge part of having good teeth. Over-processed foods are everywhere, limiting our body's chances for ultimate health due to lack of the vitamins and minerals our body needs. It also is no longer helping that the ground soil farmers use now is so nutrient starved that there isn't as much in the way of vitamins and minerals in even the whole-est of foods. Sure, we can try getting our daily allotment through synthetic (man made) vitamins and minerals, but our body was designed to work well on REAL food, not the fake stuff.

So what caused the demise of my teeth? Where do the mistakes lie? I'd have to say all three, but especially the good nutrition part. Bad teeth are part of my family history, and I admit, I wasn't very keen on brushing my teeth as a child (I brush as an adult, though!). But I do believe it was my 10 years of working at McDonald's and eating a steady diet of fast food daily...most days it was all three meals (I was a manager and the food was free). My diet before and after McDonald's wasn't much better, since processed foods are so handy, and so quick. I don't remember my first cavity (although I'm sure my mom and dad do, since it started a long string of dental visits for me), but I do know it was at a young age. I just thought it was a fact of life, not that it was abnormal to have so many problems. And amalgam filling after amalgam filling came, and then eventually crown after crown.

I see a continuation of genetic problems in our oldest child, Peanut. Peanut's been to the dentist already with many fillings at a young age (only composite fillings though!). Peanut also isn't the keenest on getting teeth brushed, but we're certainly trying to maintain a more healthy lifestyle for our children by making sure there are more whole foods at meals and the snacks are healthy. They still get their share of "junk" food, but we try to limit where we can. The one thing that's going to be better for Peanut and Doshi in the long run is that amalgam will never be allowed in their mouths.

I don't have much of an update on what's been going on with me this last week. The tooth is still bothering, and I'll be contacting my dentist this week to get in to have it pulled. I saw my doctor on Friday, and he's in agreement that it is most likely the root-canaled tooth gone bad that's causing my extra problems right now. Plus he also added what he believes are allergies to my list of symptoms since I've been having some upper respiratory problems as well on and off through these last two+ years. Allergies are on the list of symptoms that have been helped by amalgam removal. Another thing to hope for that will disappear when my dental revision is complete.

I'm hoping that next time I post I will have been able to put a list together of foods that are great for natural detoxification (cleansing - especially mercury and other heavy metals) that anyone can eat to help their bodies work better, or if you're mercury laden like me and want to avoid them until your amalgams are gone so that you aren't pulling mercury from your teeth to go through your body only to feel worse. Stop by again soon to check it out!

Root Canals, the Ugly

I came to the conclusion this morning (but had been questioning for a few days already), that I still might be fighting infection in one of the root canaled teeth. I have felt an achiness in one of them over the last month, and it seems to get a little more tender every day.

I imagine some of you are wondering how a "dead" tooth can cause problems, but according to Dr. Huggins, they can almost be as bad toxicity-wise as amalgams! For those of you who have been fortunate enough not to have ever had a root canal, what happens is "a root canal is a tooth that has had the nerve removed and replaced with a sterile material, a heavy wax or paste. This is usually done when a tooth has died. Teeth may die due to trauma (such as a blow or fall in which the tooth is hit and the nerve is killed), or a break in a tooth that exposes the nerve, or decay that reaches the nerve and infects it with bacteria." (It's All in Your Head, Hal Huggins) My two teeth needed root canals due to decay that exposed the nerves and in one tooth bacteria had made a home. The offending tooth now is one that didn't have any infection at the time, but can happen easily later on. The tooth root is made up of small tubules, much like a root of a plant. If you look closely at a root, you can see smaller roots coming off the biggest one, and smaller ones yet off those. When a tooth root is cleaned out, it's not always possible for the dentist to get into all the nooks and crannies. And the cleaning solution (made up of bleach) doesn't always reach these smaller root areas either. Once it's sealed up and covered over (most times with amalgam and a crown), there is no way for antibiotics to reach into those crevices, although the bacteria still has access to the rest of the body.

There are so many things that can go wrong with a root canal. In the case of what I'm feeling with mine, I think (now this is my opinion on this, not my dentist's or doctor's thoughts on the matter - in fact my dentist is out of the office until next week, so I can't even get in to have him look at it) that when my root canal was done, the dentist did all he could to clean it out, but there was bacteria hiding in there. Even though I went through all of the antibiotics I did, it only took care of most of it, but not all since it couldn't reach everything. Now that the bacteria are free to roam, it may be starting to grow around the tooth root and spread, causing all of the symptoms I've been having this week. In order to completely take care of it, most likely the tooth will need to be extracted along with the ligament that attaches the tooth to the jaw bone. And most likely another round of antibiotics.

In Hal Huggins' book "Uninformed Consent" co-authored with Dr. Thomas E. Levy, they devote an entire chapter to root canals. It's worth a read if you are concerned about a previous root canal you've had done, or if your dentist says you'll be needing one. Too bad I didn't remember any of it before I had these two new root canals done. I've had three done previously, so I have a total of five root-canaled teeth. Does not make a happy camper.

Here's a webpage with a video that explains root canal problems better. http://www.mercola.com/article/dental/rootcanal/root_canals.htm#