Mercury Paranoia Overblown

Per Dr. Weil.

Mercury Fillings
In conventional "silver" fillings, mercury is bonded with copper, silver, and tin. Some dentists assert that the mercury releases harmful vapors into the body--which could, they claim, cause Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis (MS), cancer, and other problems. The fillings do release mercury, but at levels far too low to be considered harmful. You'd have to have 500 mercury fillings in your mouth to produce toxic levels--and you only have 32 teeth.

My Recommendation
If you need new fillings or if old ones break down, choose gold or composite resin fillings. But don't put yourself through the trauma and expense of having intact mercury fillings removed--it may expose you to more mercury than leaving them in.

Dr. Weil is clinical professor of medicine at the University of Arizona and director of its Program in Integrative Medicine.