Lewis Carroll
frequently used common expressions, songs, nursery rhymes, etc., as the basis for characters in his stories. The origin of the phrase, it's believed, is that hatters really did go mad. The chemicals used in hat-making included mercurous nitrate, used in curing felt. Prolonged exposure to the mercury vapors caused mercury poisoning. Victims developed severe and uncontrollable muscular tremors and twitching limbs, called 'hatter's shakes'; other symptoms included distorted vision and confused speech. Advanced cases developed hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms.



Few people who use the phrase today realise that there’s a story of human suffering behind it; the term actually derives from an early industrial occupational disease. Felt hats were once very popular in North America and Europe; an example is the top hat. The best sorts were made from beaver fur, but cheaper ones used furs such as rabbit instead.

A complicated set of processes was needed to turn the fur into a finished hat. With the cheaper sorts of fur, an early step was to brush a solution of a mercury compound — usually mercurous nitrate — on to the fur to roughen the fibres and make them mat more easily, a process called carroting because it made the fur turn orange. Beaver fur had natural serrated edges that made this unnecessary, one reason why it was preferred, but the cost and scarcity of beaver meant that other furs had to be used.

Whatever the source of the fur, the fibres were then shaved off the skin and turned into felt; this was later immersed in a boiling acid solution to thicken and harden it. Finishing processes included steaming the hat to shape and ironing it. In all these steps, hatters working in poorly ventilated workshops would breathe in the mercury compounds and accumulate the metal in their bodies.

We now know that mercury is a cumulative poison that causes kidney and brain damage. Physical symptoms include trembling (known at the time as hatter’s shakes), loosening of teeth, loss of co-ordination, and slurred speech; mental ones include irritability, loss of memory, depression, anxiety, and other personality changes. This was called mad hatter syndrome.

It’s been a very long time since mercury was used in making hats, and now all that remains is a relic phrase that links to a nasty period in manufacturing history. But mad hatter syndrome remains common as a description of the symptoms of mercury poisoning.

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Page created 3 March 2001.

Hi tenalouise,

Both articles are so informative.... thank you for sharing them!

I know Drs DiLorenzo, Brockman and Grube. I am in the same peer circle as they are as we share in similar philosophies. DiLorenzo and Brockman gave up their dental practice after the state boards made life unbearable for them because of their voicetrous opinions about the toxicity of certain dental materials and procedures that the ADA condones as being safe. Blanche Grube has also had her head on the chopping block for the same reasons. She is still in dentistry, but only takes patients who have been referred by integrative physicians and dentists. All three of these dentists are actually patients at the office that I work in!

I like many others who have been in dentistry for a long time, have numerous stories about mercury toxicity, including my own personal experience as well. Mercury should never ever be placed anywhere in or near the body for any reason. It is highly toxic in any form and people are suffering life long illnesses because of it. Unfortunately, the longer you have heavy metal toxicity in your brain and bloodstream, the harder it is to get rid of.

Fortuantely, the consumer is becoming more and more informed about the dangers of mercury and hopefully the conventional dental community will heed the warnings sooner than later!

Thanks again for sharing!
Bryanna

How hard is it to get these fillings OUT of teeth? Are our only options to have teeth yanked that have mercury amalgams in them? I asked because I have like five molars left with DEEP fillings...The teeth seem to be cracked to the gumline too like from the fillings expanding and contracting I would guess. They are over twenty years old, what should people like me do about this Bryanna? I am scared they are going to be hard to get rid of...

Pamster

there are dentists who specialize in removing the silver fillings
however
one has to choose really carefully as there are also those jumping on to the procedure because it is lucrative

it is a laborious procedure and is usually done just one or 2 fillings at a time

one needs to build immunity before the procedure and also take mercury mop up supplements like Chlorella after as it is inevitable for some mercury and vapors to get into the system during removal.

I am sure Bryanna will have more info on this for you

Thanks for the information Chemar. I really am glad this forum is here.

Hi Pamster,
It is not difficult to remove the fillings, but it is imperative that the proper protocol be followed before, during and after the removal.

The pre op protocol is based on the individual needs of the patient and is usually prescribed by an Integrative Physician who is well versed in the toxicity of mercury. It can include various types of modalities, but always involves certain nutritional and herbal supplements to help the immune system protect the organs, etc. The nutritional and chelation protocol is carried out throughout the removal process and beyond depending on the individual needs.

During the actual removal in the dental chair, the dentist and assistant provide the patient and themselves with specific protection to minimize the exposure to the mercury vaoprs. This should include: Isolation of the tooth/teeth being worked on with a rubber damn or an Isolite; A high speed suction is held directly over the tooth/teeth being worked on; The patient is placed on oxygen; The room has a special air filtration system to draw out mercury vapors and replace good air flow back into the room; The dentist and assistant wear facial protection and often a mask that resembles a gas mask. All of these things are necessary to help avoid unnecessary exposure of mercury pieces and vapors to anyone in the room.

If possible, it is generally best to work on one quadrant of the mouth at each visit because it will take less anesthetic injections and less visits, than if you were to have one tooth done at a time.

Generally a patient will see their Integrative Physician and be on their preop protocol for about 4-12 weeks prior to having their first removal. They come into the dental office for the removal and replacement fillings and then see their Integrative physician sometime later that same day for chelation therapy to help mop up any residual mercury vapors that got into their system. There are various forms of chelation therapy and that choice is individualized according to the patients needs. It can be oral, transdermal, rectal suppositories or intravenous.

Replacement options of those mercury fillings is yet another issue. Generally, a biocompatible acrylic material (tooth colored) is used. However, if there is alot of natural tooth structure missing, then the tooth would require some type of an onlay or crown. High noble metal such as gold can be used, but
for people who are sensitive to metals or who do not like the appearance of them, they can request restorations made from zirconium.

Another issue that can arise is the possibility of losing some of the teeth that have mercury fillings in them. Mercury is temperature sensitive, so there is alot of expansion and contraction with these type fillings which cause cracks to form in the surrounding tooth structure. They also generally have leaky margins from corrosion as they age, making the likelihood of decay underneath them a good possibility. So if during the removal, the decay is found to be into the nerve, then the only options are root canal or extraction. Also, anytime a tooth is drilled into, there is a chance of traumatizing the nerve which could be either a temporary condition or permanent. If it is permanent, then the options again are root canal or extraction.

It is best to seek a consultation with a Biological Dentist who is well versed in the issue of mercury toxicity and who is familiar and practices the proper removal protocol. It can be done very safely and with little exposure to anyone. Here is a website that lists by state some dentists are equipped to remove mercury fillings properly.

http://www.talkinternational.com/dir...ts-global.html

http://mercuryfreedentists.com/

http://www.iabdm.org/

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please keep in mind that the majority of adult americans have mercury in their mouths. Does this mean it's ok to be there, no. It just means that you are not alone and as the consumer becomes more aware of the toxicity of mercury, the more familiar dentists will become with removing it properly.

Let us know if you have further questions that we may be able to help with

Bryanna