Mercury Fillings & Arthritis

The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) is trying to raise awareness of research linking cases of arthritis to dental amalgam fillings. While most people know that mercury is toxic, not everyone is aware that the common “silver” amalgam fillings can contain 50% elemental mercury. Today, we know that dental amalgam fillings are one of the most significant sources of mercury exposure for many people and that there are much safer alternatives for dental fillings.

The IAOMT has recently released more information on this topic. They report that a new study by researchers David and Mark Geier describes the significant relationship between the number of dental amalgam filling surfaces and diagnoses of arthritis. They claim that incidences of arthritis peak among adults with 4 to 7 dental amalgam filling surfaces. A single tooth may have multiple surfaces, so 3 teeth with large fillings can have 9 surfaces of filling. The two researchers looked at data from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey including demographics, dental exams, and arthritis diagnoses. Data about the patient’s type of dental filling recently became accessible. With this information, the researchers were able to discover higher incidences of arthritis in people with silver-colored mercury amalgam fillings than those with other fillings such as tooth-colored composites.