# I'm so goddamn tired of dental problems.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [March 10, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365 "2014-03-10T17:42:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 7

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**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/121 "2014-03-24T13:27:48Z")

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> [@rsat3acr](#):
>
> **FXMastermind** Yes I am a licensed dentest in the state of Texas. I’m not sure how you want me to prove it. Been licensed for 24 years and 4 years school prior to that hence my doing dentistry for 28 years statement.

If you don’t mind me asking, how common is the situation I had, were a crack actually went through more than one tooth? I wouldn’t have thought that the contact between the two was so tight that that could happen. I could floss normally between the two, IIRC.

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**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\
**Post date:** [March 24, 2014, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/122 "2014-03-24T13:58:21Z")

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> [@Revtim](#):
>
> If you don’t mind me asking, how common is the situation I had, were a crack actually went through more than one tooth? I wouldn’t have thought that the contact between the two was so tight that that could happen. I could floss normally between the two, IIRC.

Not a dentist - I had a molar crack/split late last year - during the exam, the molar next to it was also cracked (not broken yet) - I have a tooth missing above those two and said that the bite can occasionally be ‘off’ that would/could cause extra pressure over there when chewing.

So, I don’t think it went ‘thru’ the teeth - I think it just happened that whatever caused the one to crack caused the other - just one fully broke before the other (in my case).

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**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/123 "2014-03-25T05:03:15Z")

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I was not blessed with great teeth. Long story short: I found out a few years ago that my biological father lost pretty much all his teeth by his 20s. When I was in _my_ 20s I decided it was time to get serious about taking care of my teeth (I was in the navy at the time). So for the last 20-odd years I’ve been making semi-annual trips to the dentist, listening to their advice, etc. Last year I decided that I’ve had enough (the hygienist being a bit of a sadist didn’t help). So, I’m no longer going to the dentist. I floss regularly, I brush twice a day, all that stuff. And I think my teeth have probably lasted longer than they would have had I not been taking care of them the way I have been for the last 20+ years, but I figure that how long my teeth last is in the hands of the Fates, now. My point? I’m not sure, except that I think I can understand your frustration when it comes to your teeth. I wish you luck with that. Sounds like you’re gonna need it.

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/124 "2014-03-25T16:20:38Z")

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> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> [mercury fillings - Search Results - PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=mercury+fillings)
> 
> That’s a start. But ask a Dentist WHO DOES NOT EVER USE mercury for fillings. they know better than you ever will why.

Was this supposed to prove something bad about amalgam fillings?

> [@](#):
>
> Statistical analysis revealed that there is no relation of amalgam with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (Tab. 1, Ref. 34).

> [@](#):
>
> In conclusion, people who attributed their health difficulties to dental materials had a complex range of problems and the perception was that amalgam/mercury was the cause of the troubles.

I’m not even sure what this is supposed to prove.

> [@](#):
>
> The results of the present study showed no correlation between the presence of amalgam fillings and brain Hg level.

One study was not even a study, just a case writeup, and another was on the finding that dentists should use both suction and flushing. Another was on the environmental impact of mercury disposal. Another was on the use of[chelation therapy](http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chelation.html)in treating multiple sclerosis. Etc.

I did enjoy the one about how Iranian hairdressers have lower mercury levels if they wore gloves, though.

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/125 "2014-03-25T16:40:00Z")

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While the denial of the harm of mercury in fillings will probably go on as long as the denial over Pinks disease, the harm from the mechanical reasons for not using them is simple enough anyone can understand.

A metal filling requires a hole that the freshly mixed mercury amalgam can be pressed into, at which point it hardens up. At this point it’s a chunk of metal jammed into a hole. It’s not bonded to the tooth, and pressure on it from chewing puts stress on the surrounding tooth material.

Modern fillings are bonded to the tooth structure, strengthening the remaining tooth material. It keeps the tooth from splitting, and since it is bonded to the actual tooth, it won’t become lose, allow bacteria to grow in the area between the filling and tooth, and unlike a metal filling doesn’t transmit heat or cold.

Aside from cost, there is no advantage to using old fashioned mercury fillings.

As we found out, from a dentist, they do put off mercury vapor, which is the most damaging way to get mercury in your system, breathing elemental mercury vapor.

Of course “they” will tell you a little bit of mercury won’t hurt you, just like coal companies say the little bit of mercury (or radioactive material) in coal exhaust is perfectly safe. It’s just a tiny bit, it won’t matter at all.

Meanwhile, in the US alone, almost four tons a year of old mercury fillings end up in waste water treatment facilities, and a billion mercury fillings are put in people’s mouths each year.

Mercury from dentists is the number one source of mercury in waste water. Leaving aside the most contentious issue, mercury in people’s bodies from fillings, the other reasons are more than enough to outlaw mercury as a material for dentistry.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/126 "2014-03-25T17:02:40Z")

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> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> While the denial of the harm of mercury in fillings will probably go on as long as the denial over Pinks disease, the harm from the mechanical reasons for not using them is simple enough anyone can understand.

What is “Pink’s disease”? never heard of it.

> [@](#):
>
> Modern fillings are bonded to the tooth structure, strengthening the remaining tooth material. It keeps the tooth from splitting, and since it is bonded to the actual tooth, it won’t become lose, allow bacteria to grow in the area between the filling and tooth, and unlike a metal filling doesn’t transmit heat or cold.

I have a couple of amalgam fillings nearly 40 years of age. Last few times I was at the dentist I asked about their integrity. He said they, and the teeth, were fine and no reason to disturb anything.

Maybe I just had a really competent dentist when they were put in?

> [@](#):
>
> Aside from cost, there is no advantage to using old fashioned mercury fillings.

Sometimes cost is a deciding factor - right now I’m unemployed, if I had to get my teeth fixed the cost might make a HUGE difference in what I have done.

> [@](#):
>
> As we found out, from a dentist, they do put off mercury vapor, which is the most damaging way to get mercury in your system, breathing elemental mercury vapor.

Actually, there are some mercury compounds even more hazardous than mercury vapor, like dimethyl mercury. Fortunately, we are unlikely to encounter them in daily life but really, your statement is factually incorrect.

> [@](#):
>
> Of course “they” will tell you a little bit of mercury won’t hurt you, just like coal companies say the little bit of mercury (or radioactive material) in coal exhaust is perfectly safe. It’s just a tiny bit, it won’t matter at all.

If you live in an urban area of the US you are exposed to far more mercury vapor due to burning coal for power plants than you are from the fillings in your teeth.

> [@](#):
>
> Meanwhile, in the US alone, almost four tons a year of old mercury fillings end up in waste water treatment facilities,

Please provide a credible cite for that statement.

> [@](#):
>
> and a billion mercury fillings are put in people’s mouths each year.

Seriously? Please provide a credible cite for that as well.

> [@](#):
>
> Mercury from dentists is the number one source of mercury in waste water.

Again, please provide a credible cite.

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**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/127 "2014-03-25T17:13:56Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> According to the 2002 Mercury Source Control and Pollution Prevention Program Final Report prepared for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), dental clinics are the main source of mercury discharges to POTWs. A study funded by the American Dental Association (ADA) estimated in 2003 that 50 percent of mercury entering POTWs was contributed by dental offices. EPA estimates that dentists discharge approximately 3.7 tons of mercury each year to POTWs. EPA estimates there are approximately 160,000 dentists working in over 120,000 dental offices who use or remove amalgam in the United States – almost all of whom discharge their wastewater exclusively to POTWs.

> **[Dental Effluent Guidelines | US EPA](https://www.epa.gov/eg/dental-effluent-guidelines)**
>
> Overview and documents for Dental Office Category regulation (40 CFR Part 441); comprising pretreatment standards for discharges of dental amalgam pollutants, including mercury, into publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).

> [@](#):
>
> **It is estimated that more than 1 billion amalgam restorations (fillings) are placed annually**. Dentists use dental amalgam because it is easier to work with than other alternatives. Some patients prefer dental amalgam to other alternatives because of its safety, cost-effectiveness and ability to be placed in the tooth cavity quickly.

[http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=F&iid=286&aid=1242](http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=F&iid=286&aid=1242)

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**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/128 "2014-03-25T17:15:34Z")

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Not that sources, facts and data will make any difference at all.

In twenty years nobody I know has ever changed their stance on mercury fillings based on facts or evidence. It’s more of a belief thing than a scientific issue.

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**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/129 "2014-03-25T17:51:54Z")

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> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> Not that sources, facts and data will make any difference at all.

Of course it does, it just brands you as a dope that does not know the difference between accumulated contamination of large sources of mercury and the small and deemed safe levels on individuals.

> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> In twenty years nobody I know has ever changed their stance on mercury fillings based on facts or evidence. It’s more of a belief thing than a scientific issue.

Because you use straw men, the levels of danger are already acknowledged but you continue to lie endlessly about what the scientists and doctors recommend, and all recognized scientific organizations and medical groups do not agree with your alarmism and stupid arguments.

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**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/130 "2014-03-25T17:59:02Z")

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And FX continues to be a cherry picker extraordinaire. The last cite he uses could had ended this hijack a long time ago.

[http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=F&iid=286&aid=1242](http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=F&iid=286&aid=1242)

> [@](#):
>
> Is mercury in dental amalgam safe?
> 
> Mercury in dental amalgam is not poisonous. When mercury is combined with other materials in dental amalgam, its chemical nature changes, so it is essentially harmless. The amount of mercury released in the mouth under the pressure of chewing and grinding is extremely small and no cause for alarm. In fact, it is less than what patients are exposed to in food, air and water.
> 
> Ongoing scientific studies conducted over the past 100 years continue to prove that amalgam is not harmful. Claims of diseases caused by mercury in amalgam are anecdotal, as are claims of miraculous cures achieved by removing amalgam. These claims have not been proven scientifically.

I expect FX to toss that source he used under the bus as usual.

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/131 "2014-03-25T18:23:43Z")

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> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> The average individual has eight amalgam fillings and could release up to 120 micrograms of mercury per day. Just from chewing.

I don’t see where you came up with a credible cite for the above.

Of course, I also don’t see any credible cites for health problems due to amalgam fillings, so I am not sanguine, but perhaps you can surprise me.

Regards,  
Shodan

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/132 "2014-03-25T21:02:50Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> Of course, I also don’t see any credible cites for health problems due to amalgam fillings, so I am not sanguine, but perhaps you can surprise me.

It must not be obvious that I’m not really trying to convince you, or anyone else, of things I consider matter of fact.

I find it more interesting to watch the denial and avoidance of evidence, to maintain a belief system, which is baffling from a scientific POV

It would be surprising to me if anyone actually said anything new or different when faced with evidence. Like how at first the smoking tooth is handwaved away with “it’s just water vapor”, or “it can’t be mercury vapor”, and when that becomes impossible to deny any longer, the story changes to “it’s mercury but it’s not dangerous”, and then when that gets exposed for the complete horseshit it actually is, the next step is to attack the evidence once more.

So what’s the point? If anyone really wanted to know they would have already Googled and found plenty of evidence that shows mercury is harmful, and that mercury in fillings is bad, but that’s not what a denier wants to find, so they play games, rather than do any research.

So to save time, [after real science was done](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1928419)that proved with out any doubt [mercury fillings caused mercury to be a problem](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9164660), the tactic is to somehow say sheep chew more, and people don’t chew on grass or a cud like a sheep does, so it can’t \*really \*be a problem for people.

(see? a source and a debunking of it, it saves time)

And when it’s obvious that it’s a real problem for a pregnant woman and children, then the ADA adds that clause I linked to earlier, where children are not supposed to have mercury fillings, and pregnant women are not to get mercury fillings.

Because mercury is not a problem, except for children and pregnant women.

But for everyone else, it’s not a problem.

Just like the coal industry says, a little mercury won’t hurt ya.

Relax.

And also ignore how mercury fillings weaken teeth.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/133 "2014-03-25T22:50:40Z")

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> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> [Dental Effluent Guidelines | US EPA](http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/guide/dental/)
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > According to the 2002 Mercury Source Control and Pollution Prevention Program Final Report prepared for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), dental clinics are the main source of mercury discharges to POTWs. A study funded by the American Dental Association (ADA) estimated in 2003 that 50 percent of mercury entering POTWs was contributed by dental offices. EPA estimates that dentists discharge approximately 3.7 tons of mercury each year to POTWs. EPA estimates there are approximately 160,000 dentists working in over 120,000 dental offices who use or remove amalgam in the United States – almost all of whom discharge their wastewater exclusively to POTWs.

That’s 50% of the mercury _entering the sewer_, that is NOT 50% of the mercury in the environment. Since there are damn few people pouring mercury down their kitchen drain that’s not surprising. That says nothing about how hazardous that might be.

The other thing to remember is that the mercury used in dentistry is either elemental (if the dentist is making up his own mix) or amalgam, neither of which is well absorbed by the body, unlike organic mercury compounds which are the truly hazardous ones.

Finally, the [EPA](http://www.epa.gov/hg/exposure.htm) states that 5,000-8,000 metric tons of mercury are released each year into the environment. Which means dental sources account for between .074% and .046% of what’s polluting the planet each year. This makes your panic over it ridiculous.

About half of the mercury released into the environment every year is from _volcanoes_ and there’s not a damned thing we can do about it. Presumably, it’s this environment level of mercury that has led biological organisms to evolve a means of moving mercury out of their bodies, albeit at a very slow rate.

> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> [http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=F&iid=286&aid=1242](http://www.knowyourteeth.com/infobites/abc/article/?abc=F&iid=286&aid=1242)
> 
> > [@](#):
> >
> > It is estimated that more than 1 billion amalgam restorations (fillings) are placed annually. Dentists use dental amalgam because it is easier to work with than other alternatives. Some patients prefer dental amalgam to other alternatives because of its safety, cost-effectiveness and ability to be placed in the tooth cavity quickly.

You know, it’s horrible when dentists use a relatively inexpensive and easy substance to fill cavities – wait, no it’s not. Especially in low-income areas of the developed world, and the third world where other options are not available or priced out of reach.

> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> The average individual has eight amalgam fillings and could release up to 120 micrograms of mercury per day. Just from chewing.

Cite, please. How does chewing release this vapor? Does chewing raise the temperature of a tooth to the 356 C of boiling mercury? If so, why don’t such people suffer 3rd degree burns every meal? Sublimation? Well, maybe… but provide a cite for the outgassing of mercury vapor from amalgam fillings. You are also, with the use of a phrase like “up to”, presenting the very worst case scenario. That implies an outlier and not the normal course of events.

Now, I am not in any way opposed to finding alternatives for fillings made from non-toxic precursors, but I’m not entirely convinced that the composites are made from wholesome sunshine and fairy dust even if in the end they’re chemically stable. We certainly don’t _need_ mercury in our bodies although as long as there are active volcanoes on the planet we’re going to have some exposure. But I don’t think the level of mercury exposure _from fillings_ is a health crisis and I don’t think we need to go and dig them out of the mouth of everyone with such a filling. I’m much concerned with power plant releases, mercury concentration in the ocean food chain, and other sources much larger and more significant than dental fillings.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/134 "2014-03-26T00:09:54Z")

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> [@Revtim](#):
>
> It’s also not a hijack because it’s going back to the original topic of the thread, which is my horror of a mouth. That was my attempt at humorously pointing out that your mercury rants are, in fact, the hijack.

So, how are the crowns going so far? Settling in? No sign of needing a root canal?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/135 "2014-03-26T00:57:07Z")

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> [@Yllaria](#):
>
> So, how are the crowns going so far? Settling in? No sign of needing a root canal?

I’m taking Amoxicillin which is supposed to at least temporarily stop the pain after a couple days, then if it comes back, it needs a root canal. It’s been 5 days though, and the pain hasn’t gone away, so it’s not looking good. The pain is pretty minimal though, especially compared to the supernova of pain before the crowns when it flared up. Advil knocks it out no problem.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/136 "2014-03-26T03:06:02Z")

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> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> So to save time, [after real science was done](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1928419)that proved with out any doubt [mercury fillings caused mercury to be a problem](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9164660), the tactic is to somehow say sheep chew more, and people don’t chew on grass or a cud like a sheep does, so it can’t \*really \*be a problem for people.
> 
> (see? a source and a debunking of it, it saves time)

As usual the debunking you post is not the whole history, you only show one item and the evidence that indeed, it was not a problem for people.

[http://wwwchem.csustan.edu/chem4400/sjbr/Garrett.htm](http://wwwchem.csustan.edu/chem4400/sjbr/Garrett.htm)

> [@](#):
>
> However, these results have been harshly challenged for several reasons. The amalgam placed in the sheep’s teeth contained far more mercury than a dentist would use. If there is an excess of mercury it can’t bind properly to the other metals in the amalgam causing an increased release of mercury. Also, improperly constituted fillings wear down easily. With sheep being cud-chewers, they grind their teeth round the clock and would wear down these “soft” fillings faster thus ingesting large quantities of mercury. Also, the fillings were placed with poor technique and they put in all twelve fillings at one time, this is not done in dental practices. The type of kidney damage that Boyd et al. (1991) reported was not the type that mercury toxicity is known to cause (Baratz 1991). They measured renal toxicity by the glomerular filtration rate. A reduction in the glomerular filtration rate should raise blood urea levels. However, in the Boyd et al. (1991) experiment, the blood urea levels were lowered. And according to Sandborgh-Englund (1996), no evidence of renal toxicity was found in human subjects after amalgam removal. Boyd et al. did not expose sheep to mercury alone to prove that the mercury was causing the kidney failure (Baratz 1991).
> 
> ```
> In the study conducted by Sandborgh-Englund (1996), seven females and three males from 30-52 years of age with approximately 13-34 surfaces of amalgam fillings that were older than ten years, had all their amalgam fillings removed and replaced with alternative treatments. They excluded fish from their diets for over a month prior to the study.
> 
> ```

Just a heads up FX, a very prolific poster called \*\*Handy \*\*was banned for making loopy health recommendations.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/137 "2014-03-26T13:48:42Z")

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> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> It must not be obvious that I’m not really trying to convince you, or anyone else, of things I consider matter of fact.

No, it’s quite obvious that you are not arguing in good faith.

I note, for example, that you did not cite what you claimed, nor did you provide any cites showing that amalgam fillings lead to health problems in humans.

> [@](#):
>
> I find it more interesting to watch the denial and avoidance of evidence, to maintain a belief system, which is baffling from a scientific POV

I don’t find it interesting, since you are just trolling.

Regards,  
Shodan

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/138 "2014-03-26T16:22:01Z")

</div>

Forget about [the toxic mercury problem](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/08/mercury-fillings-europe-restriction-santi), the real evil is the weakening of the tooth by using metal fillings.

> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> The real problem is the drill and fill still used by many dentists. Drilling out the small area when decay first starts, and bonding a non toxic filling to the tooth eliminates almost all of the real problems with weakened teeth.

When decay starts, it’s not some huge hole, **and metal fillings can not be used to fix the problem**. The dentist that doesn’t use modern materials has to drill a hole big enough to press the mercury filling into. This weakens your fucking teeth, which leads the the problems that led to this fucking topic.

Is it really cheaper if later it causes you to need a fucking crown? or your goddamn teeth split and crack?

Fuck that shit man.

Barbaric it is, putting mercury into a tooth.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/139 "2014-03-26T16:45:00Z")

</div>

> [@FXMastermind](#):
>
> Forget about [the toxic mercury problem](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/08/mercury-fillings-europe-restriction-santi)

Indeed.

> [@](#):
>
> A report published by France’s Healthcare Products Safety Agency (Afssaps)in 2005 concluded that mercury fillings were harmless. Three years later the health minister Roselyne Bachelot assured France’s upper chamber that “the amount of mercury released into the organism by a dental amalgam is very small and well below the threshold at which toxic effects may be observed”. She added: “We know of no proven cases of a patient having suffered mercury intoxication due to dental amalgams.”

Once again, some dentists are just following the fear mongers, but most are just following basic aesthetics and not all are following that either.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-so-goddamn-tired-of-dental-problems/683365/140 "2014-03-26T18:59:53Z")

</div>

> [@Revtim](#):
>
> I’m taking Amoxicillin which is supposed to at least temporarily stop the pain after a couple days, then if it comes back, it needs a root canal. It’s been 5 days though, and the pain hasn’t gone away, so it’s not looking good. The pain is pretty minimal though, especially compared to the supernova of pain before the crowns when it flared up. Advil knocks it out no problem.

Sorry to hear that. Hope the pain fades out. Barring that, hope the root canal goes well.

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