Thursday, August 28, 2008

Dentist Appointment-Things Went Really Well Today

Today's dentist appointment went really, really well. I was so incredibly nervous for some reason. I think the closer I get to the end, the more anxious I am becoming. Whenever Dr. Gross started on the amalgam on the top left, I could feel this sensation of hope. This tooth has always felt strange to me--that something just wasn't right about it.. Occasionally I would get a taste in my mouth of decay or something really disgusting. I knew it was that tooth because the others around it had already been drilled out and replaced yet I was STILL getting the taste. Now that taste is gone!

My appointment went on for 2.5 hours! At the end, my jaw needed a break. I had 3 more amalgams removed and 1 new cavity filled. That means I only have 3 more amalgams to go. The one tooth had a lot of decay underneath the amalgam. The dentist said that could never have been seen (even on x-rays) without taking the amalgam out, but he fears it will be a root canal in the near future. YIKES! If it does become a root canal, I will be getting it treated with calcium hydroxide. You can find more information about that here--the website design is terrible, but the information is excellent.

Dr. Gross does an amazing job. If you live in the Pittsburgh region and need a dentist, I can't recommend him enough. I don't know what I will do if we move out of the state. I am in absolutely no pain tonight at all after 4 fillings! About an hour after the visit, the Novocaine wore off and all of my teeth felt great! Honestly, I can't say that about other dentists I have been to. Some dentists just can't seem to get the bite right either. That drives me insane when you know it's not right and they tell you it is. Well I haven't had any problems with my bite with Dr. Gross. He pays very close attention to these details and takes the time to check and check and check and check the bite. The carbon paper is magic. :p

Since I had a terrible relapse 3 days after my last amalgam removal, I elected for the oxygen. Part of me thinks this may have helped me recover so quickly because I was not breathing in mercury vapors. Hopefully I am still feeling this optimistic in a few days. The trauma of the visit may hit me in a few days when my blood mercury levels begin to rise significantly.

Even following the Higgins Protocol (which I did not use) you will still be exposed to mercury. That is just the sad truth! The best you can do is find a dentist that uses a rubber dam and does not allow any amalgam pieces to fall in your mouth. I haven't had a single piece of tooth, filling or anything in my mouth at the end. I remember as a child, the dentist would have me rinse to get the mercury filling particles out of my mouth. You should never have pieces of this stuff floating around in your mouth! The spitting sink would be FULL of them. It's no wonder I am mercury poisoned and managed to get an amalgam tattoo from that dentist. Shame on him. I think he's actually dead now...

To reduce my exposures to mercury I take activated charcoal as I walk into the office. This will help to absorb any mercury that is accidentally swallowed. Unfortunately you will swallow some mercury. It's inevitable. When I leave his office, I immediately take more activated charcoal and 4-5 grams of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is great to help relieve any symptoms of mercury toxicity. It is best to receive IV Vitamin C during the procedure, but this isn't available to me. If you take that much Vitamin C at once, you should be cautious. Depending upon how healthy your adrenal glands are, taking that much may cause you to get diarrhea. It will come on very suddenly too. If your adrenal glands are extremely fatigue, then you probably won't experience this.

Next appointment, September 9th. This should be the last one as far as I can tell. Then I can celebrate.

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