There has always been a very small minority of the individuals that have undergone amalgam replacement that have not benefited from it. This has caused a great deal of discouragement in the individual and the health professional working with them. In some instances it has been related to the materials and procedures used by the dentist that did the work. In others it was assumed that their health problems were caused by something other than mercury or that the damage caused by mercury was irreversible. Whatever the reason, it was very little comfort to the individual not seeing any improvement. Now however, thanks to some very advanced research in Sweden, it appears there may be an answer for many of these intractable cases.

Dr. Christer Malmström in Sweden has discovered that most of the people who do not see health improvements after amalgam replacement appear to have diverticula or impacted fecal matter in their colon that contains high levels of toxic metals. Upon removal of these metals, great progress can be seen in the individual's health. (Appendix B of the book "Dental Mercury Detox" contains the complete "Malstrom Protocol)

It is important that everyone understand that there are no guarantees that amalgam replacement will ameliorate, cure or solve your individual health problems!

However, even in those cases where there hasn't been any great improvement, these individuals can take comfort from the fact that they have eliminated a constant source of poison entering their body. The vast majority of individuals who have undergone amalgam replacement and the reduction of their mercury body burden have experienced improvements in health that have ranged from minor to startlingly dramatic. For example the statistics listed below were compiled by the Foundation For Toxic- Free Dentistry (FTFD) on 1569 patients from 6 different reports.

The statistical analysis involves a total of 1569 patients in six different studies: 762 patients utilized the FTFD Patient Adverse Reaction Report to individually report changes in their health directly to the FDA and the FTFD; Dr. Mats Hanson, Ph.D. reported on 519 Swedish patients; Henrik Lichtenberg, D.D.S. of Denmark reported on 100 patients; Pierre LaRose, D.D.S. of Canada reported on 80 patients; Robert L. Siblerud O.D., M.S. reported on 86 patients in Colorado as partial fulfillment of a Ph.D. requirement; and Albert V. Zamm, M.D., FACA, FACP reported on 22 of his patients.

FTFD Symptom Analysis Of 1569 Patients
% of totalSymptomNo.No. improved or cured% of cure or improvement
14%Allergy22119689%
5%Anxiety868093%
5%Bad Temper816889%
6%Blood Pressure Problems995354%
5%Chest Pains796987%
22%Depression347315 91%
22% Dizziness34330188%
45%Fatigue70560386%
15%Gastrointestinal Problems23119283%
8%Gum Problems12912194%
34%Headaches53146087%
3%Migraine Headaches453987%
12%Insomnia18714678%
10%Irregular Heartbeat15913987%
8%Irritability13211990%
17%Lack Of Concentration27021680%
6%Lack Of Energy918897%
17%Memory Loss26519373%
17%Metallic Taste26024795%
7%Multiple Sclerosis1138676%
8%Muscle Tremor12610483%
10%Nervousness15813183%
8%Numbness Anywhere1189782%
20%Skin Disturbances31025181%
9%Sore Throat14912886%
6%Tachycardia976870%
4%Thyroid Problems564479%
12%Ulcers &Amp; Sores (Oral Cavity)18916286%
7%Urinary Tract Problems1158776%
29%Vision Problems46228963%

One extremely interesting statistic relates to the incidence of allergies reported. The recent January 1993 Public Health Service Report on Dental Amalgam states: "Only a small proportion of mercury-sensitized individuals respond adversely to the placement of amalgam restorations. The few case reports of adverse allergic reactions to amalgam involve skin reactions, such as rashes and eczematous lesions..." The ADA maintains that the incidence of allergic reaction to amalgam dental fillings is extremely rare, with only 50 case histories being reported in the literature. However, a recent book "150 Years of Amalgam" by Fredrik Berglund, M.D., Ph.D. refutes the ADA statement by clearly indentifying and categorizing by symptoms, case reports, on 245 amalgam patients published from 1844 to 1993. This of course deomonstrates the type of inaccurate statement the dental establishment is prone to make in support of their position. Furthermore, ADA statements of this nature totally ignore valid peer reviewed scientific studies demonstrating an allergic reaction to dental amalgam ranging from 16.5% for non-allergic patients to 44% for fourth year dental students.

More importantly, as this symptom analysis demonstrates, the question is not whether the patient is allergic to dental amalgam but rather the direct causal relationship of mercury/amalgam dental fillings to the development of allergies to food, chemicals, and environmental factors. In the prior FTFD analysis, this is supported by the fact that 14% of the individuals reported some type of allergy and that after replacement of their mercury/amalgam dental fillings, 89% reported their condition had improved or was totally eliminated. If you were to extrapolate this data to the approximately 140 million amalgam bearers in the United States, there should be 19.6 million people (14%) with amalgam causally related allergies. Of this number, 89% or approximately 17.4 million would have their allergies ameliorate or disappear simply by having their mercury dental fillings exchanged for non-mercury ones.

We attempted to look at this from another perspective, by first determining the total number of people in the U.S. with allergies. Although there are no hard data available, the NIH estimates the number to be between 40-50 million. Using the lesser number of 40 million people with allergies, it is estimated that 65% or 26 million of them would be amalgam bearers whose allergies may be causally related to their mercury/amalgam dental fillings. HARDLY AN INSIGNIFICANT NUMBER!

Also make sure to read these books: Poison in Your Teeth: Mercury Amalgam (Silver) Fillings...Hazardous to Your Health! and Mercury Detoxification by Tom McGuire