Dentist Weighs In on Mercury Amalgam and Other Dental Controversies (Part 2 of 7)

I got back last week from my Northern Cali speaking tour and went right to Dr. Ulm’s office right here in Lindon, Utah. He’s the first dentist in Utah accredited with the IAOMT (Intl Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology). Accreditation requires a rigorous examination of mercury-safe practices and demonstrated knowledge of materials, toxicity, fluoride, and nutrition.

Dental schools don’t teach holistic or biological dentistry. That’s the art of preserving teeth, conservative approaches, considering the health of the entire organism (rather than just a trouble spot in the mouth), and finding solutions that are gentler, integrative, and more natural.

Dr. Ulm does root canals, but much more selectively after other things fail, and in a different way. As it was described to me, he floods ozone in the root canals, which unlike bleach (used to kill organisms by traditional dentists), it can continue neutralizing bacteria over an extended period of time. Then he packs the roots with a highly alkaline material called calcium hydroxide to completely sterilize the tooth. Then after a few weeks, he uses ozone again.

His is a FLUORIDE FREE practice.  Dr. Ulm offers ozone treatment during cleanings as an alternative to fluoride.

He uses digital, collimated x-rays  for 70% less radiation. He does blood analysis to determine reactivity for a specific patient to dental materials. He is trained extensively in removal of mercury fillings safely. He uses high-powered vacuums, dental dams (latex are the only kind that are effective), and supplemental oxygen, for safety for the doctor, staff, patient, and environment.

My family will be switching to Dr. Ulm, and I am considering having my root canal teeth removed by Dr. Walls. These are exactly the kind of dentists I have never had.

My dentists are good, caring professionals. But they toe the line with the ADA’s recommendations to use dangerous chemicals and metals. Clearly they don’t know any better. (If they did, they wouldn’t put themselves at risk either—which is exactly what you are, if you’re packing mercury into people’s mouths every day.)

I have read too many books and studies, I guess: I simply don’t believe in general that more chemical exposure protects us from anything or enhances life or creates health. We are destroying the world with now over 80,000 chemicals in use.

A couple of readers commented when I began the dental topic a couple of weeks ago, that I should just chill out, that the dose makes the poison. My opinion is that some things are poison in any dose.

“All things in moderation” is a popular LDS (Mormon) scriptural reference. However, it does not mean we should eat, inject, or pack into our teeth…..arsenic in moderation, gasoline in moderation, or the second-most toxic element on the planet. (That’s what mercury is.) It means all GOOD things in moderation.

Dr. Ulm’s wife, Dana Robison, who manages his practice, is articulate and educated about the travesties in modern dental practices, and what the alternatives are. They have one of the only ozone machines for dental use in the state. Her husband was an associate in other practices, where he became increasingly concerned about how he had to remove amalgam fillings and dispose of them as hazardous waste. So he finally went out on his own, and sought specialized holistic training not offered in the traditional schools.

Keep in mind, Dana said, we aren’t talking about BIOHAZARDS, but actual HAZARDOUS WASTE. It’s too toxic for a landfill. It’s so toxic Dr. Ulm must use special materials, a mask, special procedures, as dictated by the FDA! No wonder Dr. Kulacz, author of The Roots of Disease, found himself suffering from low-grade depression that only went away when he went on two-week vacations—and then permanently when he banned mercury fillings from his practice.

More than one reader wrote us about the fact that dentists commit suicide at a higher rate than almost any other profession. Actually 6.64 times greater than the rest of the working-age population, according to researcher Steven Stack. He speculates it’s because they don’t have as much status as doctors. (Well, they still have far more social status than factory workers or garbage collectors—but those professions don’t have high suicide rates! And, doctors have a high suicide rate too.)

Others say it’s because people are afraid of dentists. What if it’s because depression is a common side effect of chronic mercury exposure?

Amazingly, even though the FDA has stringent rules for eliminating amalgam as a hazardous waste, it is somehow okay to pack this material into our teeth, right next to soft gums and brain tissue? Many fillings are compromised and eroding, one dentist told me, and the mercury is not completely bound by other elements in the filling as the dental organizations tell us.

Next I’m talking about a practice called Intentional Replantation, and then some comments from dentists I have received.

Posted in: Dental Health