Amalgam Potentials Measured in Absence of Saliva - In 1952!

Keith, I guess I'm just as ignorant as the rest of us. Why don't you do the appropriate scientific investigation and then you can enlighten the rest of us...

Reply to
Paul O
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Well of course, back in 2002 I read the following statement on the website of the Canadian Dental Association:

"It should be noted that Health Canada has taken the position that "new amalgam fillings should not be placed in contact with existing metal devices in the mouth, such as braces.""

It's still there. You can find it at:

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The CDA goes on to say:

"Health Canada's concern is related to galvanic effect, which occurs when two different metals are in close proximity and create the potential for electric current to be generated."

When I first read this six years ago I immediately wrote to Dr Philip Neufeld of Health Canada asking the question:

"Is this recommendation intended to apply to metal alloy retaining pins screwed into the root sockets of a patient's tooth?"

- and in his reply he "explained" the following:

"... it is unlikely that a metal retaining pin implanted into the tooth or the jaw bone would cause galvanic currents. In order for galvanic currents to be created, the pin would have to be in contact with an electrolyte such as saliva or extracellular fluids, ..."

But now we find that as long ago as 1952 it was discovered that amalgam dental fillings are still able to generate electrical potentials even when their outer surfaces (i.e those which are exposed to the environment of the oral cavity) are not in contact with saliva or any other electrolyte.

It's all "Since the teeth were dry the potential difference V1 (Fig. 3) was the e.m.f. (e) caused by the action of the bone fluid on the two fillings, i.e., e = V1."

I think that there is an obvious contradiction here.

Can you offer any resolution for it?

Or do your "abilities" in scientific reasoning only allow you the option of ridiculing me again for pointing this contradiction out to you?

Keith P Walsh

Reply to
Keith P Walsh

An excellent point Steve!

Do you think that the fact that the millions of people around the world now have resin fillings in their teeth without reporting any discomfort from them might indicate that our friend Robert had some of his resin fillings placed incorrectly?

You know, the quality of and confidence in composite resin ("white") fillings are now so far advanced that some countries (e.g. Sweden, Norway and now Denmark) have banned the use of mercury amalgams completely!

See "Amalgam ban causes a stir" at:

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Now, I appreciate that some of you Americans prefer to imagine that your own institutions are smarter than everyone else's. However, and with all due respect Steve, I think that this may have more to do with a greater propensity for arrogance than with any superior abilities in understanding, especially when it comes to explaining the electrical behavior of metal dental fillings.

Which brings me back to the topic of our thread. In recent years technologists have developed extremely sensitive instruments which are able to measure neurological activity in the human body very accurately. Do you know if experimental investigations have ever been carried out in order to detect whether or not there is any difference between neurological activity in the vicinity of teeth with amalgam fillings and neurological activity in the vicinity of teeth with resin composite fillings.

If not, then perhaps we would need to work fast to get them done before amalgam fillings are banned everywhere!

And wouldn't our friend Robert feel silly if it turned out he's having the electric batteries put back in his teeth?!

Keith P Walsh

PS, remeber that it has been demonstrated experimentally that amalgam dental fillings generate electrical potentials with magnitudes of up to 350 millivolts. See:

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And the resting potential of the human neurological synapse is only 70 millivolts.

(And of course, according to messrs Schriever and Diamond, amalgam fillings are able to generate electrical potentials even when they are not in contact with any saliva.)

Reply to
Keith P Walsh

Keith P Walsh wrote, On 5/15/2008 1:57 PM:

Keith P Walsh can find the resolution to this problem by performing the a series of experiments and making the appropriate measurements...

Reply to
Paul O

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