Examining The Mercury In Our Teeth and Shots

What if I told you that I was going to inject something into your blood stream or teeth that in low doses can cause tremors, impaired cognitive skills, sleep disturbance, and in larger doses (and prolonged exposure) causes delirium, hallucinations, suicidal tendency, insomnia, violent muscular spasms, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Would you take it? What if I also told you this injection was banned in several European countries and most first-world countries have severely limited its use in manufacturing and health care? Would you put it into your child? Every year millions of Americans get large doses of mercury through tooth amalgam fillings and immunizations without even realizing it. There are plenty of mercury-free alternative flu shots that are readily available. Just ask your medical professional when you get your shot!

If you have amalgam fillings (those silver looking tooth fillings) you are poisoning yourself daily with mercury. If you get flu and many other shots every year, there is a good chance you are filling your blood stream with mercury and other toxins. For financial reasons, our dental and medical associations decided it was a good idea to inject mercury into our blood (through immunization preservatives) and into our teeth (through amalgam tooth fillings). Mercury has been tied to all sorts of health issues that include cancer, because it is one of the most toxic metals on earth. Thankfully, through a little education and probably a lot of cost and pain, you can reduce your mercury exposure.

What is Mercury?

I’m not a chemist, but mercury information is readily available on the internet. The Mercury Wikipedia page is a great starting point, because the bibliography on Mercury has 105 references. According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control fact sheet on Mercury, “Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil, and exists in several forms.  Pure mercury, also called quicksilver, is a liquid metal that easily evaporates, giving off invisible, odorless and toxic vapors. Mercury cannot be created or destroyed.”

One of the first things you will learn about mercury is it was used for hundreds of years in medicine and dentistry, but the use quickly declined as scientists and doctors learned of its health hazards to humans. Mercury health effects are targeted to the brain and nervous system. Mercury poisoning can also result from exposure to water-soluble forms of mercury (such as mercuric chloride or methylmercury), inhalation of mercury vapor, or eating seafood contaminated with mercury.

Mercury and Alzheimer’s Disease

While listening to the radio one day, I heard an interview with a leading doctor who specialized in immunizations. I don’t remember his name, but he stated that getting five consecutive flu shots with mercury in it increased your chances of getting Alzheimer’s Disease five-fold. Here’s a good article on the subject, but I recommend you use Google and find some research yourself. I immediately grew curious and a little scared.

Mercury in Our Flu Shots

As a former active duty Air Force service member and current Massachusetts Air National Guard member, I’ve gotten countless shots over the years. In recent years, I’ve grown more health conscious and learned about a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal that is used to preserve milti-dose flu shots. There are single-dose shots that are used once and discarded, and multi-dose vials that provide multiple uses. While the needles are only used once, the multi-dose flu vial is stored until fully consumed. Thimerosal is used to keep it fresh and free of the growth of germs, bacteria and fungi, that can contaminate the vaccine. You can read more about thimerosal on the Center For Disease Control and Prevention’s website.

For the past two years I’ve ensured that I’ve received the single dose flu shot and I recommend that you insist on single dose shots as well. During the 2011 flu season, I tried to avoid getting the flu shot because that was the year I learned about the mercury preservative contained in them. My military unit insisted that I get the shot and I was told to visit my primary care doctor if I wanted to argue the point. I chatted with the head of the immunization clinic, who assured me that flu shots were  approved by the FDA. She had never heard of mercury in the flu shots. I still refused, so I was then passed off to a doctor. Yet again, he was another medical professional that had never heard of mercury in our flu shots. I showed him the link to the CDC’s website and he left the examination room to do some research. After 30 minutes, he returned with the ingredient and warning paperwork that came with the flu shots. He stated, “Michael, you are correct. Many of the flu shots out there contain the thimerosal preservative, but the Air Force switched over to the single-dose flu shots years ago.” He then told me that he was calling his wife to tell her to ensure that their children get the single-dose shots. He looked a bit perplexed and scared after reading the literature.

Mercury in Our Amalgam Fillings

Like millions of other Americans, I got tons of cavities when I was a child and had several “silver” fillings or amalgam fillings. As a child, you really do trust your doctor or dentist. Through my younger years, the dentist put seven amalgam fillings in my mouth. I recently got them all removed and luckily my dental insurance covered it. I removed them because as you eat hot foods, you heat up the amalgam fillings and release mercury into your mouth and digestive system.

Amalgam fillings and any use of mercury in dentistry are banned in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. These countries concluded that there are plenty non-mercury based fillings and it is silly to poison people and our planet. Additionally, the World Health Organization reports that “mercury from amalgam accounts for 5% of total mercury emissions and that when combined with waste mercury from laboratory and medical devices, represents 53% of total mercury emissions.” Not only are we poisoning ourselves with the toxic amalgam fillings, but we are poisoning our food supply and land with mercury.

Conclusion 

Mercury is toxic, yet sadly, all around us. Thanks to the mercury we dump into our rivers and oceans, it’s in our fish. Any wonder why the polar bear is one of the most toxic animals in the world? Mercury is in our shots and for many of us in our teeth. I made a conscious choice to ensure my flu shots and teeth are free from mercury. Make a choice in your life to insist on single-dose shots for yourself and your family and friends. If you have those “silver” amalgam fillings, visit your doctor as soon as possible and see if he/she is qualified to remove them. The time, cost and short-term pain will ensure you live with less mercury in your life.