She is the coauthor of Mercury Free, a book about horrific health problems associated with implanted metals and how biological and wholistic dentistry is trying to clean them up.
The background for this post is episode 230, “I Thought Dentists Were Inferior Animals Before I Learned About Doctors.”
Quotes from Mercury-Free by Teresa Franklin PhD and James Hardy DMD (2021):
What makes [mercury} amalgam scrap? If it is not in the tooth, it is called scrap. Environmental agencies must be contacted for proper disposal methods of that little piece of amalgam that didn’t go in the tooth. If amalgam is unsafe to put in the trash can, how can it be safe in the mouths and bodies of an estimated 100 million Americans, which translates to 1/3 of the population? It is not safe and in fact, based on a conservative estimate in a population-based trial, over 67 million Americans exceed the safety exposure level set by the EPA.89
The World Health Organization (WHO) studied mercury exposure to humans from air, water, food and amalgam fillings, and concluded that the largest source of exposure was, by far, dental amalgams. The WHO also concluded that there was no safe minimum dose of mercury. “Symptoms are known to occur, at least among some of the population, at every level of exposure 97,281.”
In the U.S., mercury has been banned from interior and exterior latex paint. Mercury has also been banned in many pesticides. Mercury has been banned from batteries, smoke detectors, children’s toys, eyedrops, from most vaccines, and its use in thermometers and thermostats is being drastically reduced and will soon be nonexistent. Other products that contained mercury such as mercurochrome and calomel, have been banned altogether. Mercury use has been banned for a reason – because it is highly toxic. But….explain to me why mercury has still not been banned in the most personal environment, the mouth. It makes one wonder who has the most powerful lobby in Washington D.C.: the paint industry, the pesticide industry or the ADA?
Dr. Franklin was quite sick for a long time. She had all four health issues that people can get with dental appliances:
metal allergies
mercury toxicity
a battery effect between the metals implanted in the body that likely causes amalgams to release mercury more rapidly
chronic infection
As she gradually figured out what was happening, she started insisting on proper treatments despite denial and foot-dragging by her dentists and doctors. Orthopedists are paid poorly for screw removal, and dentists are brainwashed to ignore amalgams by the American Dental Association (ADA).
As Dr. Teri had her dental work removed and replaced with modern “composite” materials over several years, her health progressively and dramatically improved. One of her experiences was the draining of a chronic, nearly asymptomatic abscess. It was invisible on a “cone beam” dental X-ray. This was shockingly stinky, and a globule of mercury was found inside. Another time, patch testing of her skin proved that she had certain allergies to her metal orthopedic implants. Her local orthopedists told her she was crazy, so she flew across the country to get her these taken out by Scott Schroeder, my last podcast guest. After Scott removed her bone screws, she dramatically improved.
Dr. Franklin emphasizes that testing is only useful for metal allergies. For suspected mercury toxicity, none of the available assays help make the diagnosis unless they are highly positive. If they show nothing, mercury might still be hiding in your body. You can only be sure you have a problem after you get rid of your amalgams and (hopefully) feel better. Abscesses such as her smelly one often have no X-ray signs. Most people feel far better after they are drained and cleaned out. Dr. Schroeder tests for the battery effect of metals using an electrical meter during surgery, but this is a research tool.
We discuss how having more than one type of metal implanted in the human body creates reactions between them. For patients who have amalgams, this can cause toxic liquid mercury to vaporize and move into the rest of the body.
Here are a few excerpts from the book Dr. Franklin co-authored with some of her other comments.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took tuna fish off our grocery shelves when it had only 1 ppm of mercury in the fish. I remembered the Minamata Bay disaster in Japan. The people there ate fish containing mercury and they suffered high numbers of birth defects, mental retardations, cerebral palsies and premature deaths directly related to ingesting fish contaminated with mercury.7 So I asked the professor, “If our government removes tuna fish from stores with only 1 ppm mercury,8 how is it even remotely safe to put 700,000 times that much in our patients’ teeth and allow them to chew on it for years?”
The mouth is the harshest environment for any material, and no material there is considered permanent.
It is nearly impossible to determine how one might feel without a toxic substance without removing it if it has been part of one’s life for so long.
Since 1984, numerous scientific articles have been published providing evidence that dentists and their staff have greater neurological, neurobehavioral, kidney and other disorders and deficits than nondental workers.65–67 As we would expect from the insidious nature of mercury, symptoms continue for years and manifest themselves in such a way that one might not even suspect a link. For example, psychosomatic symptoms, problems with memory, concentration, fatigue and sleep disturbance, were all shown to be significantly greater in a study comparing dental assistants with other medical assistants.
The ADA’s response to the above, which it still stands by today, was to issue a “Special Report” stating that it is improper and unethical for a dentist to remove amalgams from the non-allergic patient based on the dentist’s imperative to remove toxic substances from the patient’s body.
Many of my patients have requested amalgam removal for cosmetic reasons or as a hedge against future mercury-related problems. They did not sense any ill effects from having amalgams in their mouths for 25 or more years. But, when the amalgams were replaced, many of these folks noticed unexpected health improvements. Some say their memory improved. Some noticed that they could think more clearly. Others report more energy. Still others report feeling calmer. In more rigorous studies, my general observations have been replicated.
If amalgams have been in your mouth for 10 years or longer, be prepared for some issues to be exposed upon removal. There is a 50% failure rate on amalgams that are 10 years or older. That means that after around 10 years, 50% of them break, fall apart and/or have decay underneath. In some cases, the decay could be significant. Some patients’ decay may have progressed to the point that a root canal surgery may be needed.
A study that followed close to 400 people for nearly three years showed a strong link[FT1] between the presence of amalgam and extra workdays missed. The number of days missed from work was compared the year before amalgam removal and one and two years afterward. The results indicate a 30% drop in sick days two years after amalgam removal.127 What would be the savings in the U.S. of a 30% drop in sick leave among workers? Not to mention, improved morale and productivity while at work and …improved smiles .
Mercury exposure has been related to: MS, cancer, infant death, high blood pressure, low fertility, arrhythmias, thyroid disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and neurological and psychological disease.
100 million amalgam fillings are still placed in the mouths of Americans each year, and this is the greatest source of environmental and human exposure to mercury. US dentists use 16 tons of mercury a year and half is disposed of improperly.
To prepare to get your amalgams out, see Chapter 12. You’ll want to be sure your dentist has what Dr. James and I call the ‘internal mercury shield’ before you start the removal process.
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Here is Dr. Hardy’s mercury detox protocol:
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HERE, HERE, and HERE are papers about detoxing using zeolite. The important one is the clinical trial by Flowers et al. The IAOMT dentists (see first reference below), Teri’s biological doctor, and co-author James Hardy recommend this protocol. She got hers from Amazon HERE. Another review:
Dr. Franklin says, “I prefer to call the ADA the Amalgam Dental Association.”
Comment: I fell into this topic less than a month ago because my friend Deb Butler kindly pushed me into the pool. I read three books, listened to podcasts, looked at references, and interviewed guests.
Teri says the ADA is controls the dentists and that they are almost blameless. This cannot be the entire picture. Learning about these people has shocked me at least as much as finding out about my wretched colleagues. I am (almost) at a loss for words.
This is my “panorex” X-ray. My dentist counted seventeen amalgams last week. This is a lot of metal, and these were originally 50 percent mercury. Typically, about half of it dissolves from the teeth and passes into the rest of the body over about twenty-five years. Mine are older than that.
I wonder if my recent tremor and lifelong low-grade anxiety are due to mercury toxicity from my childhood amalgams. Also, replacing my shoulders recently may have mobilized mercury due to battery effects. So I am getting all seventeen fillings removed and replaced with white “composite.” (Saremco ceramic composite fillings might be the best.) This material is more expensive, harder to use, and less profitable for dentists. Once the mercury source is gone, the rest gradually clears from the body, but chronic cases may not improve symptomatically. Wish me luck.
References
The best is the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) website HERE.
[We are] a global network of dentists, health professionals, and scientists who research the biocompatibility of dental products, including the risks of mercury fillings, fluoride, root canals, and jawbone osteonecrosis. We are a non-profit organization and have been dedicated to our mission of protecting public health and the environment since we were founded in 1984.
We accomplish our mission by funding and promoting relevant research, accumulating and disseminating scientific information, investigating and promoting non-invasive scientifically valid therapies, and educating medical and dental professionals, policy makers, and the general public. The IAOMT has a federal tax exempt status as a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, with Public Charity Status 509(a)(2).
Our work is crucial because there is an alarming lack of professional, policy maker, and public awareness about dangerous dental products that are harming humans and the environment on a massive scale. To help change this dire situation, IAOMT members have been expert witnesses about dental products and practices before the US Congress, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, the Philippines Department of Health, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, and other government bodies around the globe. Additionally, the IAOMT is an accredited member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Global Mercury Partnership and was involved in the negotiations leading to UNEP’s Minamata Convention on Mercury.
There are only around 1400 IAOMT members worldwide, and the total number of dentists is about 202,000 in the US alone.
Fluoride information from Dr. Teri:
If you want to geek out about fluoride “controversies,” THIS is a recording of the NTP BSC Fluoride Neurotoxicity Meeting from May 4, 2023. You can listen to how both the truth and the lies are presented.
HERE is more from “Fluoride Free Australia.”
Since the 1940s, when community water fluoridation was first initiated, fluoride and fluorine compounds were added to an array of additional consumer products… These include pharmaceutical drugs, carpets, cleaners, clothing, cookware, food packaging, paints, paper, and 16 other products.
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Fluoride Consumer Products Iaomt 7
375KB ∙ PDF file
THIS is a fluoride toxicity Substack .
HERE is a Mercola interview of Dr. Thomas Levy about how tooth issues cause heart disease and cancer. This is super important but did not make it into the original version of the first dental post.
The Cassandra’s Memo ebook is free HERE if you promise to send the download link to five or more others. Hard copies are available at Barnes and Noble. With your help, we will educate some people sitting on the fence. If you have time to write a review at Barnes and Noble, click HERE and scroll down the page until you see the blue “review” button on the right.
BONUS: I am also giving away the Hormone Secrets and Butchered by “Healthcare” ebooks using the same arrangement; you can download them free HERE and HERE if you promise to send the links to your friends. Hard copies of these are available at Amazon.
I have no copyright; you may (accurately) quote any of my essays or books in part or whole without restriction. Also, this is not medical advice as I’m retired. Use the information here at your own risk.
While I completely get the idea to have all mercury removed — and I have done just that years ago — what is in the u201Ccomposite,u201D and do we know that is safe? Personally, I replaced mercury with gold, but I guess itu2019s not 100 percent, and who knows what other metals they use when filling with gold. Just asking if we know the stuff they replace it with is without issues.
Composites are relatively unreactive and contain no mercury
I had all 13 of my old fillings replaced by a holistic dentist many years ago. It took several months and probably should have taken longer. Even under the best practices, some of the mercury escapes into your body. Then it takes the body months more to finally eliminate those residues. But my health overall has improved greatly since then! I had given up on the old dentist who saw no harm at all with the mercury fillings, fluoride or other toxic materials.
Can be done rapidly with good technique
I was totally ok with the time – It was hard enough to sit through each visit as it was!
Over 2 hours is tough
Wowza! Incredible info.!! I have to say your articles are so informative and sometimes ‘ scary’. Good luck with your procedures. If I may ask( off topic) can you point me in the direction of info about A1C levels. Doctor prescribed a new med without even talking to my husband. Yes he has type 2 diabetes supposedly. He is already on Metformin and Glyberide. I am furious. Nobody returning calls to discuss. Just ‘ POP’ Another pill.!
Iu2019ve changed to intermittent fasting! Itu2019s great! I eat one meal/day, and usually have a veggie drink/protein drink during the day with exercise. I eat only from 1100-1900.
I try to eat healthy, but itu2019s difficult when everything is garbage! Have you read labels lately? SCARY! I had ovarian cancer last August (and Iu2019m healthy!), that thing that happens to other people. Now I REALLY focus on what I put into my body, a machine much smarter than u201Cmeu201D!
If you take care of it, it will take care of you. People assume this. Assume at your own risk.
Ovarian ca responds to and may be cured by testosterone. See Hormone Secrets.
oops. just said samesies. Stack comments jumping around the page a bunch!
A1C is a joke. Insulin resistance seems to be the issue. Check out Dr. Berg on Rumble or YT, for his takes on A1C, insulin, and IF + some Keto (Intermittent Fasting). Enough free info there to get you started.
https://rumble.com/c/DrEricBergDC
Thank youuD83DuDE0AI had a feeling. Love Dr.Berg!
Yes
If your husband was prescribed a statin, don’t let him take it. It is far more dangerous than any cholesterol level they consider high. A normal A1c is 5.7 or below. If your husbands was higher than that, have him reduce carbohydrates, especially processed foods, until it drops. Mine is now 4.8 after eating primarily fat and protein for some time
Normal cholesterol, in the past, was 400 or below, then it was reduced to 300, then 250, next 200. The reason, big pharma wants the entire planet on statins. They are even talking about putting it in water supplies (sound familiar). Our brains use cholesterol as their primary energy source. It is in every one of your brain cells. I suggest you read “The Great Cholesterol Myth” by Dr. Jonny Bowden
Chicken is fed seed oil
Statins are a scam
Got him off the stains after 3 months. Felt awful while on them. Will double down on getting him on reduced carbs. He does eat alot of protein. Dr.Berg says potassium and sea salt is also needed. Just watched a few of his videos. Thanks for the advice!
Jason Fung MD podcast website YouTube.
Thank you for the info.uD83DuDE0A
Dr. and yes you will always be one, Yoho has a section in Butchered by Healthcare on the Dangers of Metformin. You can add Glimerpride to the list. For me, it was all their pills. Humalog works for me, A1CA was 5.9 this time. What I didn’t want was his upping my Synthroid, past 1.37, the 1.50 causes Dermatology issues that are hard to get rid of. Same with Statins. Hub saw his Cardio and came home with a third statin. The government changed the numbers again. We made big diet changes a few years ago eliminating fried foods, and less carbs, using an Airfryer now. And NO ONE TELLS YOU TO AVOID STEROIDS, CORTISONES, OR PREDISONE for Diabetics and Glaucoma patients. Drives BS and Eye Pressure up.
Thank you for this thoughtful comment.
I am absolutely furious. My doctor is my husbands new doctor due to his retiring from practice. Only has seen him twice now. Has seen him total 10 minutes while face is stuck in his computer. Our doctor has swallowed the narrative hook, line and sinker. Infuriating! They called after blood work to say his A1C level was up. Just called in a script without a discussion, especially if this pill was in addtion to or a substitute for metformin or gylberide.
My dr would like me to get my fillings out but the procedure cost 10,000 . I have cirs and biotoxin mold illness, he found a dentist in Texas that he trusts to do it without making me more sick. I donu2019t have the money. When I was in upstate New York, I foolishly went to a new clinic for poor people and I think they gave me more fillings than I needed. All my autoimmune issues got worse and the correlation never occurred to me back then .
Mine did not cost that much…wow.
Iu2019m under the impression that heu2019s a specialist with CIRS patients, maybe thatu2019s part of the $.
Dr Lagos in Tijuana might be a possibility. Send him your panorex.
It is expensive. You have to weigh the consequences. Mercury-free can provide you with information that can help you with the decision.
It seems all too apparent these days that every trip near a dentist or a doctor will be certain to drain not only your wallet but destroy your health and even your life.
My heart goes out to those of you with mercury fillings!
I thank God I avoided them. But still wonder how toxic my “composite” fillings may be.
You’re fine
Metal toxicity or poisoning is probably more accurate than “allergy”.
2 separate probs
I will ask him again. The dentist specializes in safe removal. A friend had it done 3 years ago & sheu2019s free of her biotoxin mold illness now.
This article is fascinating. I had my mercury fillings removed many years ago. An alternative practitioner recommended I do so. As an adolescent I had 13 mercury fillings done within a few weeks. (I have since come to learn that much of it was unnecessary. My father had good insurance, and the dentist took advantage.) My grades dropped, and I had trouble concentrating. To an all u201CAu201D student this was devastating. It took many years, but Iu2019m so glad I finally had it done. Thank you for this article.
Look for a biologic dentist. I am seeing one in Green Bay, Wisconsin. If they are in north central Wisconsin, they are everywhere. He is familiar with Dr. Scott Schroeder as well.
Dude: tone it down and condense your posts a bit. I’ve restrained myself from banning you so far. Best
Read those books for referrals
I am seeing Dr. Lagos in Tijuana.
Your substack provides real PSAs – not the fake public service announcements by Sesame Street and ilk that came to be with Covid. I hope your audience keeps growing exponentially; you deserve it.
Sign everybody up!
And thanks
I had an amalgam filling removed and it was not done carefully or properly. I coughed for at least 3 weeks (with no other symptoms) and my boss was even wanting me to stay home. When I finally went to a functional medicine MD, I found out what was going on. She referred me to an holistic dentist who used ventilation, etc… and I had no trouble with that one. Good grief!
Dr. Robert , ASAP…I had mine out 30 years ago…and I am sure the amalgam is much better now…I did mine for cosmetic reasons, but so glad I did.
Nice write up.
I would second all of what the author wrote. We (holistic dentists) have been teaching this for 35 years to anyone who listens. I dropped my ADA membership once they took me to court for removing mercury fillings and never looked back. You could also include the fact that the mercury filling are made to fail. They constantly expand and split the teeth. This garbage filling of patient’s teeth should be outlawed. There are better, stronger, healthier and match the tooth’s color.
options in dentistry. I have never understood why someone would put a silver turned black filling in a white tooth?
Thanks for adding the fluoride danger and cavitation warnings to the end of the article.
Blessings in all you do.
Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Lawrence, author of Holistic Dental Care
Someone contact him via his substack.
I hope the anesthesia will be free of hydrogel filamentsu2026.
Bob,
As I read your earlier post on metals, I was struck by the irony I always feel when conventional doctors feel that they have “discovered” something that has been well-published for decades. The book is interesting, but you should really get a more comprehensive detox plan before and after. A good option: Louisa Williams, ND, the author of the 2011 book “Radical Medicine” that discusses metals, mercury, teeth, and the body in detail. Also, in 2017, she put her “The 5 Dental Detox Days: A Naturopathic Doctor’s Guide to Effective Detoxification of Mercury Amalgam Fillings” on Kindle.
I would advise 1) do not do a mercury challenge test, especially when the amalgams are in your moth, and 2) get a Clifford Materials Reactivity test before selecting a replacement filling material. BPA and BPA-free (BPS, BPF) all have endocrine disruptors, the glass isomers have proved carcinogenic, and implant prep that uses cadaver bone powder (why that became a thing, I have no idea) results in such problems as leukemia (beyond the normal contaminant concerns).
Mercury and other toxins will redistribute in your body (including brain) when you do a challenge test, or bite hard, etc. Try to avoid this. Warn your family of possible problems, so they won’t just ignore you when you irritate them!
James Hardy published the 1st edition of this book in 1996. Your advice is right on.
Thank you for consolidating so much data in one place for us to pass along to others. And another really bad things about amalgams is that they break your teeth! The metal has no ‘give’ so the tooth tries to ‘breathe’ and the metal won’t budge, so the tooth cracks…I have cracked every freaking molar in my mouth thanks to this barbaric practice. A biological is repairing what’s fixable but it ain’t cheap.
All very important points in this article but shouldnu2019t you also include the dangers of root canal treatments? I had all my amalgam fillings removed about 20 years ago and then over the next 10 years I had root canal treated teeth removed. I didnu2019t really notice any improvement in my health after the amalgam removal but I did after the root canal filled teeth were removed.
Mentioned in this and other posts
That is a whole ‘nother ball of yarn. I totally agree with you. Personally, I will never get another root canal procedure.
In the 90s, I read a book called It’s all in your head. I then decided to remove all my amalgams at once. This cost me thousands of dollars, as I replaced them all with “gold” fillings.
Fast forward to today, I have been told by 2 different dentists that I still have amalgams in my mouth.
Devotion beyond belief as the hygienist that advised me to read the book was the sister of the dentist that ” replaced with gold”.
Not sure if I can take any action due to the time frame. The dentist IS still in business.
Any feedback?
get other consults. search for biological dentists and read the books I referred to
say whatever you want but keep it to about 500 words and only one comment for each post please. Best
Thank you DR. Yoho. Yet another indicator, red flag, that the continual assault on our well being has been going on for so long. Just, yet another harmful, toxic, evil addition to wreck our health.
Needless to say once that health’s wrecked. Goal achieved. You’re on the treadmill of ever increasing meds to survive. Megapharmas goal achieved.
My brother did that many years ago. Said they were making him sick. But the gold crowns I had kept popping off every few months.
Try another dentist? Zirconium crowns are unreactive (in most cases) and if put on correctly do not pop off.
That was what was popping off. When he pulled the last molar which had cracked down the center, that left 10 cutting front lower teeth, which were very painful and spreading. The jaw bone was too degenerative for implants. or a denture. Uppers are mine, only 2 very old cavities, but in the same spreading, and painful way. A denture won’t hold without an adhesive, and none of them work. Red Dye is an allergy to boot. He had been doing my teeth for 30 yrs. Army Reserve. Retired from there now. Did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Took 2 years to find a dentist that made clear gum lower denture. Which won’t adhere because of jaw degeneration. They just help me speak better.
I am so sorry….