Mercury in Infants

In our last article we looked at the general association of mercury in dental amalgam, that concoction made to use in fillings. We noted that dental personnel had to admit that mercury can and does leak from fillings.

There was especially concern about women who became pregnant and had amalgam fillings put in during this pregnancy. It is now realized that that the mother's mercury levels are directly proportional to the amount of fillings she has. In addition, the baby's mercury level is higher than the mothers, especially in the baby's liver and brain.

It has been recently demonstrated that the placenta concentrates the mercury toward the baby. Factor in a child's small size, which means that much more damage is done to the tissues of the child than of the mother. Since this evidence was overwhelming, the ADA issued a warning to its members not to place amalgam fillings in pregnant women.

No thought was given to the dangers of implanting amalgam fillings in female children and teenagers. Long term study shows that the mercury from these fillings persists in the woman's body decades after the fillings are placed.

It has been proven that blood mercury levels in children with amalgam fillings are higher than those in adults with the same amount of amalgam. There is tremendous growth in the brain during the first six to eight years high mercury levels are especially dangerous.

There is a link thought amongst some to endometriosis, a condition that can lead to female sterility and that it is increasing in incidence. One effect that high mercury levels have on the unborn baby is that they lower one of the body's most protective antioxidant molecules, glutathions.

There is a problem of how much mercury each person is exposed to. Recent studies say that even very low exposures to mercury could adversely affect fetal brain development. Mothers who breast feed must realize that it is necessary to gauge how much mercury they are ingesting. If a mother is eating high amounts of seafood, or is exposed in some way to other mercury...she must give thought as to what affect breastfeeding would have on her infant.

Each of us are very different people, therefore it is difficult to give random values to mercury absorption. Even our bodies process the mercury in different ways. If you plan to become pregnant, you should mention all these things to your doctor so you can be smart about how much mercury makes its way into your system.