Whilst acute heavy metal poisoning is now considered rare, there is an increasing awareness that susceptible individuals may develop a number of health problems relating to chronic, low dose exposure to environmental pollutants and toxins. These are now ubiquitous in our food, air, water, and surroundings. It is now generally accepted that there is no "safe" level for metals such as mercury or lead. Toxic metals appear to be important not only through causing direct toxicity but also by sensitising the immune system and causing hypersensitivity to a range of substances in the patients’ environment. Both oral and IV chelation therapy can be used to eliminate unwanted toxic (heavy) metals from the body.

A number of laboratories can assess the body’s burden of toxic metals such as mercury, aluminium, cadmium and lead in a number of different ways. We frequently find evidence of increased levels of nickel and mercury in patients we test. Mercury is the third most toxic metal and has been routinely used in so-called silver amalgam. This is the major source of exposure in most patients although increasingly contaminated fish and seafood is contributing to the body’s load of mercury.

The World Health Organisation has sponsored many studies in various parts of the world on the effect of mercury in human beings and several countries such as the Scandinavian countries have now banned its use in most dental patients. German insurance companies will now pay for the removal of amalgams from teeth and one of the major manufacturers of amalgams in Germany has now withdrawn from business. The American Food And Drugs Administration (FDA) has finally in 2008 acknowledged the potential risk of mercury to the unborn child and the young.

Patients at risk of problems with heavy metals can be assessed by provocation urine tests where the levels of urinary metal excretion is compared before and after provocation by a chelating agent such as oral DMSA or intravenous EDTA. This will determine whether there is a higher than normal level of metals within the body and also whether the body is able to excrete these using a chelating (binding) agent. We would only recommend replacement of fillings in the presence of clear evidence for either mercury sensitivity or an increased body load. Treatments should be carried out by dentists with the appropriate technical precautions in place to avoid increased exposure during amalgam removal. We also advise a programme of nutritional supplements to support the patient during the dental treatment and subsequent detoxification programme. This will involve either he use of natural chelating agents such as oral chlorella and intravenous glutathione, phospholipids or synthetic agents such as DMSA.

We have seen positive changes in some patients' health after either careful removal of the amalgams and replacement with composite (white) fillings or a course of chelation therapy. Some patients with multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue symptomatology, chronic headaches and chronic tinnitus have dramatically lost their symptoms within weeks.