Be careful when you have your amalgam filling(s) removed; for several hours, the numbness in your face will hinder good judgment on whether your bite feels normal again (when your teeth fit together as you clench down, like normal chewing). When Dr. Sperbeck refills your teeth, a tiny bit of extra filling will stick out above the tooth, and you’ll be able to feel it. He will sand it down to match the rest of your natural tooth’s shape, and check your bite on a piece of film to get rid of any good-bite-blockage. I thought I was good to go, but as “Mrs. Marshmallow Face”, I should have been more careful in determining the status of my bite! Ever so subtly, I can feel just something there that makes my bite go just a bit crooked and it’s not how I remember it. My jaw muscles have also been feeling slightly more tired. Then occasionally I will find myself subconsciously clenching — almost grinding, like my jaw wants to go back to the old way of chewing but can’t find a way. The funny thing is, is that it hardly bothers me at all, but in reality this must be fixed quickly. Even minor adjustments such as this grow into bigger problems. I read and hear about TMJ a lot now, and I’m realizing that this is a way it can start, and I’m thankful I’ve recognized it early! I am going back to the office in a few days to shave off some more of the fillings so my normal bite will return.

If this has ever been your case (maybe you had your fillings removed a long time ago, and you remember not feeling quite normal, but you ignored it and it became the new “normal”), do not wait to have that fixed or at least examined by a dentist! Straying from the natural way your teeth should fit together is terrible for your jaw in the long run. TMJ disorders develop from those “insignificant” bothers, and it’s so important to communicate with your dentist of ANYTHING that wasn’t the way it was before. Granted, it may not always be a negative result, but it is still important to speak up, because the dentist knows a whole lot more about what’s right/wrong in our mouths.

So here’s how the procedure went:

I sat in the chair. It was comfy. They started by numbing my mouth up so I wouldn’t feel the drilling. Once it kicked in, shields and suction things were placed in my mouth and around our heads so any mercury vapor wouldn’t escape into our lungs. They drilled out each filling on the right side of my mouth first, cleaned it, refilled those teeth with the right kind of filling, and cleaned everything once more. They had me rinse, but I had lots of trouble because I could not even feel my lips or tongue, and not dripping all over my bib was quite a task. Plus, I was not allowed to swallow at all the entire time (that was the hardest part). I sat back down, they did the same thing to the other side of my mouth, and just like that, it was finished! They sanded down the fillings to correct my bite, had me rinse and gargle and wash once more, and I was good to go! Well, except for my mouth still being completely numb. My husband was having a ball teasing me about my “thilllllllyy thpeecthhh.”

For the next couple of weeks/months while the mercury level in my body is spiking, I will have to go through a special detox to get rid of all traces; but once that’s over, I will not ever have to worry about it again. And I have all-white teeth again, thank goodness!

Hello, Readers! I am Dr. Sperbeck’s daughter-in-law, and this last weekend I had my teeth worked on in his office for the first time (I live out of town). Wow! It was actually a lot of fun and the entire visit went by quickly and smoothly, and the results were great!

When I was younger, I was not as thorough as I should have been when it came to brushing and flossing regularly; I therefore inherited six cavities, three on each side of my mouth. My old family dentist was very nice and I never had a bad experience in his office, but the more I learned about amalgam and TMJ while reading this blog, the more I was aware that this other dentist was not practicing dentistry good for the body. He filled up my cavities with amalgam, the “silver” (ahem, MERCURY) fillings and I had never given them a second thought until now….well, except for the occasional glance in the mirror and not really finding metal in my teeth very attractive.

I was able to attend most of the IAOMT seminars with Dr. Sperbeck and my eyes were opened to the schemes behind pro-mercury dentistry and things the AMA/FDA wants to hide from us for financial reasons. Immediately afterwards, we decided to remove my fillings because of their extremely hazardous effects on my health (and Dr. Sperbeck’s possible grandchildren’s health!).

This book is a wonderful, if not, the best resource available to the general public with information regarding amalgam fillings. I’m in the process of reading it and will note certain particular things that are interesting or important for you to know. We have to spread the word about this horrible practice!

http://dentalwellness4u.com/

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles

One quick thing I learned at the IAOMT meeting was the difference between mercury-free and mercury-safe dentistry. This is important for me to specify. Mercury-free dentistry is a good thing, but it only implies that materials and equipment a dentist is using don’t contain mercury. What if someone already has amalgam (silver) fillings, bringing them into the office to be removed? Removal of amalgam fillings causes microscopic particles of mercury to be released in the air, and very careful measures must be taken so that inhalation or skin exposure is prevented. This is definitely the case in my office and with my staff; the term just needed specification. Mercury is extremely toxic and destructive to our health. Once it’s in your body, it’s very difficult to detoxify and remove all traces.

Dr. Sperbeck, West Los Angeles