In a message dated 8/5/02 4:44:59 PM Central Daylight Time, a...@concentric.net writes:
> When I had all my mercury fillings removed 15 years ago, the dentist I > > consulted in San Diego wanted $175 per tooth for the work. My dentist > in > > Tijuana removed all at $25 a tooth. > I can't speak to the specifics of the cost difference here - Mexico does do a lot of things cheaper than in the U.S., so this may be legit. However, for those looking to have mercury fillings removed and replaced, I would caution that you interview your dentist very carefully to make sure s/he knows the proper procedure to do this without causing further damage. I have had all mine removed, but I had to switch dentists. My friendly neighborhood dentist continued to assert that mercury fillings were inert (question: what does the dentist do with the filling once it's out? He has to dispose of it as hazardous waste!). But, if it would make me feel better (I had already been told by my doctor that I had a mercury toxicity problem), he would just drill them out. My doctor had cautioned me to ask if he had received the special training to do this. When I asked, the dentist just laughed at me and said "how do you get them out except drill them?" Just drilling without taking proper precautions can cause more damage. The small particles end up down your throat and in your sinuses. The dentist who did the removal placed a rubber dam in my mouth to prevent particles from going down my throat, and gave me air over my nose to breathe through a mask so I wouldn't breathe in particles. He and his assistant came in fully masked (with those haz-mat masks, not the little paper ones) and goggled and rubber gloved. Then he prescribed chlorella and a bunch of other things to chelate the mercury out of my system. I haven't been back to be retested yet, but I feel confident that this dentist did it right. By the way, most insurance companies won't pay to have the fillings changed just because you want to, or even if your doctor says to have it done because of a known mercury toxicity. But a dentist who does this regularly will know how to complete a superbill to maximize insurance payments. Mine was almost all covered (not the supplements, just the procedure), because all my fillings were so old he got them to pay to have them replaced due to wear & tear (I don't know the technical way he wrote it up, but that was the upshot). Linda
