Home Page | "It's All In Your Head" | My Own Experience

The following are selections from It's All In Your Head (Diseases Caused By Silver-Mercury Fillings), Copyright © 1989 Hal A. Huggins, DDS and reproduced here by permission.

"Every 15 minutes."

"How long have they been going on?"

"Since October . . . two months. But we could see it coming on in August."

"What happened in August?"

"She had two tiny fillings placed. That's why we're here. She's had $8,000 worth of testing at the finest hospital in Denver under one of the best neurologists."

"What do they suggest?"

"That she be put in an institution and both her mother and I undergo psychotherapy."

Is this another case of mercury toxicity?...

This child couldn't stand by herself. Couldn't walk. She could just barely think. She had been a straight A student and now this eleven-year old girl would take an average of 90 seconds to answer the simplest addition problems.

We had 15 minutes between seizures to give anesthetic on both sides, place the rubber dam, get the amalgam out and place new mercury-free fillings. We did it in 14 minutes. Then it hit. She had a violent seizure right in the dental chair. This chair had metal parts. Sharon put her hands on the child's forehead to hold her head in the headrest. Her father sat on her right leg and I sat on the left. Another assistant draped herself across the waist. All of us were thrown up and down like we were on a bucking bronc. We were a combined weight of over 650 pounds and yet we were tossed into the air like rag dolls.

It was December 19th.

On December 25th she woke up. The numbness in her body was gone. Her brain was clear. She got out of bed and walked downstairs by herself!

There were no more seizures. The next spring we videotaped her running the 100 yard dash in 14.8 seconds. (pg. 5-6)

We expect you to have a good understanding of the depth of the problem after reading this book. And we expect to be able to give hope to those of you who have been told for so long that your problems are "all in your head."

Are our two initial stories isolated cases? Not by any means. We see patients with chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, depression leading to irritability leading to suicidal thoughts. We see allergies, chest pains, arthritis and scores more. We've been accused of "selling snake oil" by saying that these are all related and that we have an answer which helps.

But the answer is there. Mercury toxicity can do all this - all this and more to the susceptible patient. We estimate that more than 20% of the population is affected by mercury toxicity sufficiently to hinder their lives. Our estimate is based upon the number of patients we see as well as the number of patients who are seen across the country by other dentists and physicians. (pg. 8)

Amalgam, amalgam, amalgam. If you are like most Americans, you don't really know what amalgam is. Very few lay people (who have amalgams) know that their amalgam or "silver fillings" are mixtures of silver, copper, tin and zinc as a group mixed with an equal amount of mercury. Their silver fillings are actually 50 percent mercury. Fifty percent mercury when placed, that is.

If mercury stays tightly bound in the amalgam compound as dentists are taught, then a five- or ten-year-old filling would still contain 50 percent mercury. They don't. Actual tests show that they contain 25 to 35 percent mercury by that time. Some 20-year-old fillings have less than 5 percent mercury. (pg. 11)

In my case for several years I had been experiencing extreme fatigue. Not just tired. When I would come home from work I would be completely wiped out. My wife said I was like a zombie then. Some friends suggested to my wife a place in Denver, Colorado where thorough tests could be done. About a year ago (today is 2/25/97), she finally convinced me to go.

The tests showed among other things, that I had heavy metals in my system. One source of this is mercury amalgam dental fillings. So it was suggested I go to a dentist in Denver that is qualified to test for mercury leakage.

I had a mouth full of silver-mercury fillings. I had a lot of dental work when I was young, around the second grade, and periodically since then. Without going into the technical aspects of the testing for leakage, here is the gist of it. The dentist said that if the readings were neutral then things were ok. Either a plus or minus reading showed some leakage. I had a number of fillings that showed readings in the 20's and some even as high as 30.

Based on that, I was probably on the verge of much more serious health problems - such as full blown fatigue syndrome.

I had to decide what to do. I decided to have the fillings replaced. Since a number of my teeth were so full of fillings, there wouldn't be much tooth left. Thus I would need a number of crowns. It wouldn't be easy financially, but we went ahead.

I had the work done by quadrants. Basically a quarter of my mouth at at time. It wasn't what I would call fun. But were the results worth it? Yes.

The lower left quadrant had the greatest amount of silver amalgam. Just after it's removal, while still in the dentist's chair I experienced what some of you may be able to relate to. Some times after a chiropractic adjustment of my neck, it's like I can see more light. It's as if your system is now processing more light, or you have perhaps less of a tunnel vision effect. I asked if the effects of mercury removal can be that quick. Yes, sometimes. Also the effects can be over days, months and years.

How am I now? I definitely have more energy. I do not experience the almost debilitating fatigue. Also I used not to be able to stay up much past 10:30 p.m. for more that one night in a row. Also when I woke up in the morning, even though I had slept the night, I was not refreshed. Usually it would take a half hour or so to come to life. Now when I wake up, I can get up and am alert and awake. Also I can work much later many evenings and still do fine. My mental alertness is improved and I experience less of what you might call a mild form of anxiety attack. My wife says I am quite different too.

Obviously my results are not as dramatic as the experience given from the book, but they are real and much appreciated. I can see much correlation between my health and personality and the early dental work I had as a child.

Based on my experiences and what I have read in the book quoted above, what observations would I make? The first would be not to put mercury fillings in children. They are still growing, and the effects can be significant.

Should someone just go to any dentist and say, "Take em' out!" No. Unless the dentist is qualified, and uses the correct procedure and precautions, the removal could be worse than if they were left alone. (Update Jan. 2007) The dentist I used has retired. If you are interested in finding a dentist in your area qualified for mercury amalgam removal, I would recommend goting to Hal Huggins website, www.hugnet.com. You are also welcome to use my Contact Form.

Another item to note. One rather dangerous situation as far as mercury amalgam fillings is if one also has a gold crown. The reason is that something like electrolysis is set up (sort of like what happens with copper and galvanized pipe) and the result is a much higher exposure to mercury leakage.

Well that is my experience. I put this information here basically as a public service to provide information that may be of help to someone else too. If so, I would be enjoy hearing from you. Thanks.

Further Notes (6/10/98): Just a few observations since I wrote the above. I continue to find that I have more stamina and do not get exhausted as I did before. I often stay up much later that I could have before without getting sick. My immune system seems to be working well and I do not get sick as often as before. I used to have a tautness of the muscles and tendons on the left side of my neck from my shoulder to my jaw. This is the side that had the greatest amount of mercury amalgam. That is gone now, and I also find it easier to swallow. The vision in my left eye also improved as was verified also by an eye exam. So again, not dramatic improvements, but improvements all the same. My observation would be that the younger you are when you have mercury amalgam fillings removed, the better. But please remember to have someone qualified to do the work. For more information you may wish to contact Hal A. Huggins' office or visit his website at http://www.hugnet.com/