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Are mercury amalgam fillings poisonous?
NO! There has been much discussion and a lot of deeply-felt argument has been propounded that the presence of mercury in amalgam fillings is harmful in the long-term but there is precious little scientific evidence that mercury in fillings does any long-term damage.
Mercury amalgam has been used in fillings for over 100 years. One would have reasonably thought that if there was a serious risk associated with this, then it would have come to light before now. Current scientific thinking by the World Health Organisation is that the environmental risks associated with mercury is a far greater problem than the presence of mercury in peoples' fillings.
The problem is that it is possible to measure traces of mercury from fillings for an extended period after they have been placed and, by extension, also to measure traces in the blood and body tissues. At issue is the source or origin of this mercury. As there are many sources of dietary mercury and mercury compounds, principally fish, it cannot be assumed that all mercury found in the body must therefore come from fillings. The most important consequence is whether this low level of mercury is harmful in any way and this is the link that remains unproven. Today's sensitive tracing techniques can detect almost any compound - the question is whether these levels are clinically significant. The majority opinion is that they are probably not.
A lot of people have made all sorts of outrageous claims that their fillings have caused all sorts of obscure ailments, varying from making them fat (honest!) to causing cancer. The main claims seem to revolve around general wellbeing but there is little evidence that any of these claims stand up to detailed scientific investigation. The following website gives a good account of the current line of scientific thinking regarding mercury and dental fillings; www.dentalwatch.org/hg/amalgampp.html
There is much research into this problem being carried out at present, both the Government and the WHO have programs. If you have any concerns regarding then use of mercury fillings in your mouth, then talk to your dentist.