Did you know that a single amalgam filling releases an average of 10 micrograms of mercury daily? Or that dental amalgam contains 50% mercury? Despite all the known dangers of mercury, some people insist that amalgam isn’t a problem. You’ve probably heard the claims that “mercury released from amalgam is harmless” or “mercury becomes inert […]
The Integrative Health Blog
One Way Your Emotions Can Affect Your Oral Health
Did you catch the terrific article Dr. Mercola posted last week on the science of the relationship between positive emotions and health? (If you didn’t, go check it out now. We’ll wait for you.) Yet all too often in such discussions, oral health tends to get overlooked – even as we know that negative emotions […]
The Evidence for Traditional Diets Doesn’t Come from Just Weston Price
Nearly 80 years ago, Weston Price showed how oral health and development both suffered when traditional diets were replaced with Western ones, loaded with refined sugar and flour. For most of those 80 years, mainstream dentistry dismissed those findings, accusing Price of shoddy research methods and fitting evidence to preconceived conclusions. All the while, other […]
New Research on the Link Between Root Canals & Systemic Disease
A root canal tooth is a dead tooth. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything going on inside it. Though the tooth is sealed at the top, what’s in the tooth is free to escape through the roots and enter the circulatory system – including any pathogens remaining within the tooth and, more importantly, their […]
The Mercury in “Silver” Amalgam Fillings Doesn’t Necessarily Stay There
There was an interesting – and troubling – study some years ago which found that after 20 years, your average mercury amalgam “silver” filling can lose up to 95% of its mercury content. While the lead author assured that “what’s left is in a form unlikely to be toxic in the body,” he and his […]
From the Archives: Handling Mercury Amalgam Is No Laughing Matter
Updated from the April 23, 2016 original post Surprisingly, there hasn’t been a ton of research on dental workers’ exposure to mercury – perhaps because the party line is that mercury amalgam is “safe.” Of course, the American Dental Association’s “Dental Mercury Hygiene Recommendations” belie this, urging caution at all points in the process of […]
Grind Your Teeth? It Could Be a Sign of Sleep Apnea
If you grind your teeth when you sleep, you may have been told that there’s not much you can do about it besides wear a night guard. But while a guard can certainly protect your teeth, it does nothing to address the cause. Over the years, various theories on the causes of bruxism have been […]
What Kids Need to Develop Strong, Healthy Teeth (Hint: It’s Not Fluoride)
What do iron, vitamin D, and fluoride have in common? The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics thinks they’re all nutrients and worries that your breastfed baby might not be getting enough of them. Yes, in a recent article for moms, fluoride is described as one of “three nutrients” they believe breastfed babies may need supplements […]