IT never ceases to amaze me how the cause and solution for some problems hide in plain sight. For example, many of the problems I see in my patients are related to electrical currents caused by dissimilar metals in the mouth. Any chemical engineer can tell you that when you put two different metals together in a salt solution, the metals act as a battery, and depending upon which metals you combine, the amount of electricity generated can vary.

The amount of current produced in the mouth by having different metals intra-orally would seem quite small. Dentists refer to such conditions as “battery mouth” or oral electricity. But when you consider that a very small electrical current manages your entire nervous system, you would readily understand the significance. In fact, the five metals in amalgam (silver filling), when placed in saliva, could generate enough current to interfere with your brain or heart function. When you begin to realise the impact of even a subtle electrical charge on your nervous system, it is surprising that this link has remained so elusive. A Scandinavian country banned amalgam fillings years ago, and I stopped using them years ago as well.

Every action you take, every thought you have, is propelled into bodily function by tiny electrical impulses jumping across the synapses in your nervous system and across cell membranes. These electrical messages are a form of language that the nervous system decodes and relays, for example, from your brain to your hand. Some of these are conscious, like when you decide to turn the pages of a book.

Every hour, billions of electrical impulses create an automatic messaging system that keeps your body functioning as a highly sophisticated series of processes. Everything from the production of blood cells to the rate at which your bones deteriorate is controlled by the network of electrical impulses in the nervous system. The electrical ‘messages’ emanating from the metals in your mouth may be in disharmony and interfere with your normal electrical signals, and it should hardly seem remarkable that this current could make you ill. So, whenever patients attend my clinic complaining of a tooth that “shocks”, I first check for dissimilar intra-oral metals if dental work was done recently.

Studies from Europe indicate that it is acceptable for teeth to emit electricity at levels below 100 millivolts and 3 microamps. Many of my patients’ fillings exceed the norms, especially when gold or other metals are in the mouth along with amalgams.

In my experience, excess current floating around your body can have a very serious impact. Because the current flows through the path of least resistance, it is very difficult to predict the effects or where the resulting problems will occur. Diagnosing the impact is difficult, and much research is needed in this area. But interestingly, more than 50 years ago, the American Dental Association journal published studies on the systemic effects of these galvanic currents. The article noted the symptoms of galvanism as being:

• Metallic or salty taste.
• Increased salivary secretion.
• Burning or tingling sensation along the tongue.
• Occasional nerve shocks and pulp sensitivity from connecting restorations or by connections made with a spoon or fork.
• Pathological changes in the blood, kidney or organs, probably caused by absorption of ionised toxic metals.
• Generalised discomfort in the mouth, irritability, indigestion, loss of weight, and in some cases, reflex radiating neurologic pains through branches of the fifth trigeminal nerve.

When I see a problem clear up instantaneously or within a few hours, then I can logically assume it was electrical in nature. Mercury does not leave the body this quickly. At least half of the improvements my patients report fall into this category. When 60 Minutes did a story some time ago about dental amalgams, one of the people interviewed described how she got out of her wheelchair in a few hours. The ADA said this could not have happened so quickly if she had been mercury toxic. In any event, your dentist should evaluate and advise you when you have different metals in your mouth simultaneously.