Here's a twist on this thread.
I had a titanium post put in my mouth a few years ago. No problems, and it looks great.
Recently I was diagnosed with ALS. There is basically no treatment and my symptoms are progressing too rapidly. I've been to some alternative treatmet practitioners who not only want to take out my amalgams, but also take out the post, stating that the titanium is causing toxicity in my body.
The amalgams have mercury in them, and there is a nugget of rationale to remove them. However, I have found nothing on titanium. However, the alternative dentist I am going to says that it has to go. So does a naturopath.

I'm not sure what I'll do at this point. I either do nothing and go downhill, or try something.....and take a shot in the dark. I don't know.

Hi citytom,
Actually, you have brought up a significant point that is <seldom> if ever discussed in conventional dentistry called <Electro> Galvanism. It is not always thoroughly discussed in non conventional dentistry either because it is a subject, just like mercury, that the ADA wishes NOT to recognize as a probable health concern. So dentists have to be very careful how they approach this subject with their patients because it's no fun to have the ADA creeping up your back.

Galvanism is a corrosive response that occurs anytime there are dissimilar metals mixed together, on top of, next to, or near each other. In the mouth, the response can be corrosive and similar to having battery static from one metal to another due to the saliva and vascularity of the mouth. It's common knowledge that this type of static near the brain cannot be healthy. Some of the controversy over Galvansim is similar to that of mercury in that, the ADA does not feel that the chronic vapors of mercury coming off of our fillings nor the constant battery static in our mouths from having dissimilar metals can have any long term negative effects on our health.

The average adult person in the US has many dissimilar metals in their dental fillings. Just to give you an idea. Amalgam fillings (they look silver when new and then turn dark gray/black) originally contained 50% mercury along with a mixture of cadmium/indium/palladium/lead. That mixture is still used today (perhaps illegally in some states) and another one has been introduced into the picture which contains 50% mercury along with silver/tin/copper/zinc. As you can see both types of amalgam mixtures contain dissimilar metals mixed together and none of these metals are considered biocompatible to the human body.

Along with these mercury/metal fillings, we have some crowns that are made of aluminum oxides/colbalt/barium/cadmium. Porcelain on metal crowns are generally made from ??% of gold/palladium/silver/copper/platinum. Full gold crowns or gold onlays are anywhere from 1-99 % gold and the rest is a mixture of other alloy metals like above. The more gold it has, the more expensive the lab fee. Dental offices generally try to keep their lab costs down, so unless a person specifically requests a high noble restoration or a biocompatible material to fabricate their crowns, the metal could be of varying quality to say the very least.

The bottom line ....... it is highly unlikely that the titanium implant itself has caused you to have ALS. However, the implant in combination with the other metals that you have in your mouth, could be a contributing factor to your ALS as it could have been the final break in your immune system.

I have lots of patients who are sick with various autoimmune diseases. Some do improve greatly once all of the metal is removed from their mouths and the proper chelation is done. Others, see minimal improvement and then others see temporary improvement. My personal opinion on this is...... the mixture of metals is not healthy for anyone. Removing them may or may not significantly improve your symptoms for long or short term. However, even if there is a remote chance that the proper removal of them along with thorough chelation prescribed especially for your situation could improve your long term qualtiy of life......... it may be an undertaking that you should consider doing before the ALS progresses any further.

Here is a very informative website that talks alot about the various metals used in dentistry.

http://tuberose.com/Biocompatible_Dental_Materials.html

Please keep in touch with us and let us know how you are doing.

Bryanna

Hi,

dont be scared; I can assure you it is well worth having the implant done. The most traumatic part of the procedure for me was anticipating having the tooth extracted. I took valium (prescribed at my request) and sailed through it. Same with the actual implant 3 months later; valium made me relax and after that it was plain sailing.
The worst part of the whole experience was having to wear a dental plate for 6 months.
I have had the implant for a year now and it looks and feels great. Go ahead!

I asked about implants a few years ago,however I made the mistake of first bringing up the issue of mercury! First dentist denied that mercury could possibly be causing me any health issues. So I called around & found dentist number 2. After the exam & discussion of doing the implants, I again brought up mercury. I wanted to be assured any dentist removing my fillings/teeth knew what he was doing! Once again I got that "look" and the adamant refusal that mercury could be causing any health issues.

I will research the electro galvanism,that might be enlightening.

And I just wanted to say that while I've done nothing about my teeth,my lifetime friend had the implants. It's been 9 mos now & she is very pleased. Her cost was about $15,000. Her insurance paid for most of the cost. She never experienced any horrific pain.

And for the person diagnosed with ALS (sorry I can't recall your name). I urge you to research Lyme disease! There are people that have gotten out of bed & wheelchairs after getting a proper diagnosis of Lyme. Just google ALS & Lyme disease for info. Good luck!

Buttons

Maybe you can give me some advice. I had 6 dental implants put in my upper jaw last June 2008 and 2 on my lower jaw. I had all teeth removed and the implants placed by a maxillifacial dentist. All is well with my implants - no complications. I thought it would be good to go with a removable denture since the fixed denture is so expensive. To this day, the removable denture is not completely in place. Had three sets made - not one is comfortable or looks nice - very gummy. I am considering a fixed denture now since I am so upset that I am embaress to talk to anyone. I would like to know if this is normal for a removalbe denture to have so much gum (my gums never showed before) and if I spend the money on a fixed denture - does any gum show at all. My maxillfacial dentist tells me it does? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you!

Diane

Hi Diane,

If I'm understanding you correctly, you have a removable denture on the top only? The lower implants have crowns or a bridge on them?

Dentures can be esthetically customized but there are some limitations. The esthetics pertaining to the length and size of the teeth... amount of gum on the denture..... the size and shape of the denture itself....all depends on the anatomical bone structure of the person. The balance between the size of the teeth and the size of the gum material needs to be in proportion not just for appearance but for practical functioning (chewing, spreaking) purposes as well.

If you have moderate bone loss then you would need more gum material on the denture to take up the space that use to be bone. This could cause you to have a more gummy smile than you did when you had your own teeth. In this scenerio prior to extractions your natural gum line showed less because it had receeded which makes the teeth appear longer. Frequently, the recession occurs over a long period of time and the patient is not even aware of the extent of it. Could that be possible in your case?

The fact that the denture is not "in place" is definitely not right. Irrelevant of the look of the denture, it should be seating properly on the implants and should be very functional.

Have you consulted with a Prosthodontist? These dentists specialize in the replacement of teeth. They are very focused on esthetics, sometimes moreso than a general dentist. They frequently get cases where the GD cannot please the patient with the fit and/or esthetics of the denture.

Let us know how things are going.....

Bryanna