What Type of Filling Would You Prefer?

	Black ones that expand and break teeth? OR White ones that bond to teeth and hold them together?	As more and more dentists open their eyes to the fact that mercury in dental fillings are toxic, we want you to know that we became enlightened in 1990, and originally created this website to help dispense this information.

Click Here to learn More on Mercury

The Mercury Does Not Become Inert After Placement - watch a video that shows a 25 year old filling still giving off mercury vapor. 
Read about the symptoms mercury can cause in those who are sensitive to it.
Read our Special Mercury Toxicity Issue of our Newsletter
Read about the FDA's new stand on Mercury Issues

Why We Use No Mercury in the Fillings We Place

Composite resin fillings contain no mercury. They are bonded to the tooth and therefore help prevent fractures of teeth. Amalgam (silver) fillings expand and contract differently than tooth structure, and crack and break the teeth they're in.

Composite fillings can be contoured to the exact bite, are readily repairable, and look absolutely fantastic! On the downside, they are much more time consuming to place, and so are more expensive, and some insurance companies do not pay well for them.

Did you know that the silver fillings in your teeth contains more than 50% of the toxic element, Mercury? The argument rages as to whether that mercury is bound, and therefore inert, or actively liberated as mercury vapor which can then be absorbed into body tissues throughout the life of the filling. Amalgam is a material that is over 150 years old, and there are many modern alternatives that can be considered.

The known effects of mercury toxicity include deterioration of the immune system, the neurologic system, and the reproductive system (Read one patient's testimonial). While I do not profess to be an expert on the scientific evidence which I have become familiar with, I made a choice many years ago, after having read a scientific article which indicated there was suppression in the immune system of monkeys in the experimental group (which had recently undergone amalgam filling placement), while the control group remained normal. The American Dental Association's response was to state that "this research was done on monkeys not humans, and therefore has no relevance. " At that point, I asked myself what the American Dental Associations was trying to cover-up?

Many dentists who have read this page have asked me why I suspected a cover-up? It is incongruous to me that the American Dental Association tells us that mercury-amalgam is safe in our patient's mouths, that once the silver and mercury have hardened, there is no significant mercury vapor liberated from the filling. In the same breath, they ask us to store all unused amalgam in a sealed glass jar, with the scrap metals underwater. So that makes two places amalgam is safe, in your mouth, and underwater. . .sealed jar! Read the ADA's guidelines for mercury, and ask yourself, aren't they talking out of both sides of their mouth? Is it any wonder that Scandinavia and Germany, and most recently Canada have curtailed or banned the use of amalgam? They provide no scientific research to verify this, other than the Public Health Service study done earlier in this decade. They fail to state that this study on the safety of mercury indicated that further research was necessary before any conclusions could be reached.

  Dentists around the nation have been blocked and sanctioned by their state boards, and the ADA from explaining the risks of mercury fillings. Several years ago, in an advertisement, I wrote "we do not use the toxic substance mercury in any of the fillings we place. " The NJ State Board of Dentistry fined me $500 for false and misleading advertising.  When I provided them with a copy of the NJ Environmental Protection Agency's treatise on the subject of mercury toxicity, they backed down.

What is the ADA trying to cover up? I can only guess that they have been endorsing the safety of mercury amalgam for so long, that a reversal of position would create widespread fear in the public eye, and reversal of trust with the profession. The inexorable fact remains that many foreign governments' regulatory agencies have banned the use of amalgam all together, or in pregnant women and children under the age of 18.

How our practice contains the environmental risks

With that overwhelming evidence present, I have chosen to be extremely prudent.  Since 1992 (when I became aware of the Vimy study), I have not placed mercury in patients mouths, and with the removal of old amalgam fillings I am proud to announce that our new office building was equipped when constructed in 1997 with special filters that remove mercury waste from our drain lines, before it can get into the sewer system (and the environment). At that time we were one of only two offices in NJ that were taking this extra step to protect the environment, and to put our money where our mouth is. It costs us substantially extra each month to do this, and therefore other practices will be slow to jump on this bandwagon unless governmentally mandated.  The American Dental Association has finally acknowledged that mercury in dental fillings does not remain inert when hardened, since they are now instructing dentists (finally) in mercury hygiene.   There are, however, regulations coming in NJ to mandate this environmentally friendly step.

Mercury Links

Watch Our Mercury Video

One Patient's Story

Dr Markus,

In 2001 I had a two week episode in which I suffered from at least ten MS-like symptoms: confusion, dizziness, tingling, burning, etc. The MRI report stated that I had MS or had had a stroke, but the neurologist assured me that I did not. I quickly forgot about the episode. However, a little over a year later, I had another episode.  I went to another neurologist, who also advised me that I did not have MS.

In 2003, I became desperate because many of the symptoms were becoming constant companions. As I searched on the internet for help, I read about the effects mercury fillings could have on a person's health. Although the theory sounded plausible, I was still skeptical. However, by September of 2003, I finally became desperate enough to seek a dentist's office that would not demean me for requesting that my mercury fillings be replaced.

Dr. Markus, your office was so sympathetic and patient with a client who had a fear of going to the dentist.  The symptoms disappeared within two months and I can truly say you have given me back the quality of life. There are not enough words to thank you or your staff.

Deborah Colomy

I've been warning dentists with home offices, for years, that their offices were time bombs.

Read the ADA Guidelines on Amalgam Accumulations in Dental Office Plumbing

DRNA, the mercury trap company, of which I am a shareholder, had a conference years ago where the former secretary of EPA (who is on their board of directors) stated that home-offices would become toxic waste clean-up sites prior to their sale in the not too distant future.

I have recently learned from a friend who is a real-estate developer in NYC that the Williamsburg Bank Building (a 50+ story skyscraper that contains a tremendous dumber of dental practices) was up for condo-conversion to apartments in Downtown Brooklyn by a group owned by Magic Johnson.  I can't imagine what the EPA issues on that would be, if anyone savvy enough to raise them, did so.

I also heard that the dentists in that building were up in arms, because they had nowhere to move their practices to in that densely populated area, so convenient to all transportation.  If only one of them got wind of these issues, they might be able to apprise Ole' Earvin about the hidden problems of that building.  I know I wouldn't want to raise a family in a building with 70+ years of mercury sludge in the sewer system, without every pipe in the building being carefully removed (according to the ADA guidelines).  This might just be worth a trip across the river to the ADA meeting this weekend to talk to their representatives there.

Autism has been linked to the presence of the preservative, Thimerisol in vaccines. Thimerisol contains mercury. If you click on our Mercury Links page, you'll find an article written by RFK Jr. about the causes of autism. For the vast majority of cases of autism today, there is no strictly genetic explanation. As with many chronic disorders, most cases of autism appear to be caused by some genetic predisposition coupled with some early environmental insult. That insult could be from Thimerisol, or from mercury vapors inhaled, or mercury ingested by a pregnant female. For that reason, many Western nations discourage, or prohibit the use of mercury fillings in women of child-bearing age, and children.

Urinary mercury concentrations are highly correlated with both number of amalgam fillings and time since placement in children.
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