Did you know that your fillings could be affecting your health? The University of Georgia’s website recently reported, “Dental surface restorations composed of dental amalgam, a mixture of mercury, silver, tin and other metals, significantly contribute to prolonged mercury levels in the body, according to new research from the University of Georgia’s department of environmental health science in the College of Public Health. This research, which analyzed data from nearly 15,000 individuals, is the first to demonstrate a relationship between dental fillings and mercury exposure in a nationally representative population.”
According to Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, “The potential adverse health effects of mercury from amalgam and bisphenol A (BPA) from composite resin have been significant concerns. It is unclear whether dental restorative materials significantly contribute to mercury or BPA levels. The purpose of this study is to use NHANES data including 14,703 subjects (2003-2004: n=7514; 2011-2012: n=7189) to examine the association between Dental Surface Restorations (DSR) and blood total mercury (THg), inorganic mercury (IHg), methyl mercury (MeHg) and urinary BPA through the stratification of covariates and multivariate analysis.”
This is a “big win” finding for advocates of Mercury Free Dentistry. The study’s results indicate levels of elevation of both forms of mercury in the blood of subjects with mercury fillings. This provides further ammunition that mercury in the mouth is not inert, a controversial subject in the dental industry for years.
Adding fuel to the fire, a related study on the negative impacts of mercury in the body reported that it may trump exercise benefits. This trial, published in Environmental Health Prospectives, was a cross-sectional association design of a population of 262 subjects. They had all been tested for prenatal methylmercury exposure and were analyzed at age 22 years. The researchers were seeking to find mercury’s effects on memory and processing in association with exercise. The authors stated, “Higher aerobic capacity was associated with better performance in short-term memory and processing speed. However, prenatal methylmercury exposure seemed to attenuate these positive associations.”
This is concerning, because exercise has been shown in many studies to support brain health and provides a simple intervention for potentially preserving cognition. In fact in a new study, with 12 master athletes, researchers showed that after just 10 days of exercise cessation there were changes with less blood flow to the brain. Thankfully, the short-term effects didn’t seem to effect cognition, as based on a verbal fluency test. Translation of this study’s results could be limited to a specific population, but it is intriguing in providing evidence of how moving the body effects blood flow to the brain. Long-term this could have profound implications, especially if one combines inactivity with mercury exposure.
You can read one of my previous posts on the mouth-body health link here. Then click here to continue reading about the concerns I have with mercury-filled mouths and some helpful solutions. Knowing about the problem isn’t enough, it’s best to protect your body and health with support so that you can live your best life!
