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FOREWORD (THE BIG DENTAL LIE, 1st edition)
I had returned to Colorado Springs for my second continuing education course on mercury amalgam
toxicity. Dr. Hal Huggins, our instructor, recognized me: ‘‘You are the guy whose jaw was hanging on
the desk all through the first course!’’
The year was 1983. I had been practicing dentistry for 11 years. I had heard enough. I decided that
week-end I would no longer be filling my patients’ cavities with mercury amalgam.
When studying at the University of Montreal’s dental school, my teachers had assured me that
dental amalgam was a very safe substance to use to fill teeth. I believed them – as a good student
should.
Then, as a young dental officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, I taught Preventive Dentistry to
military dental assistants, hygienists, technicians and dentists. I was going to save the world from
dental disease through ‘prevention’; teaching flossing, brushing and nutrition to all my patients,
whether they wanted to hear it or not! I went as far as installing a slide projector in my operating
room to demonstrate proper hygiene techniques and nutritional habits. (Those were the days before
PowerPoint, DVDs and plasmascreens.)
You see, dentists become dentists to help people stay healthy – not to make them sick. And that
week-end, it occurred to me that I had been poisoning my patients - and myself, for that matter -
trying to save their teeth. One slide after the other, Dr. Huggins, the pioneer of modern mercury-
safe dentistry, showed us why and how medicine had stopped using mercury – the second most
toxic substance on earth. But dentistry hadn’t caught on.
I had a wife and three children to support. Plugging amalgams was my main source of income. In
those days, alternative filling materials were not as strong and comfortable as today’s. Nevertheless,
it was ethically and morally the right thing to do. I no longer wanted amalgam in my own teeth, in
my children’s teeth, nor my patient’s teeth.
My evolution from a ‘conventional’ to a ‘mercury-free’ dentist is very similar to those of others. As
you read these lines, nearly half of the dentists have stopped using mercury amalgam to fill cavities,
most of them due to the better aesthetics of white fillings, but some also due to the toxic affect of
mercury in the amalgam.For nearly 200 years, this material has been responsible for saving millions
of people from potentially serious dental infections. Amalgam is very strong and effective to fix holes
in teeth. And, it wasn’t until the end of the last century that we were able to measure the toxic
mercury vapour coming off these fillings - every time they were stimulated: chewing, brushing,
smoking, even using a portable or cell phone; miniscule amounts daily that eventually build up in our
cells and tissues preventing them from functioning normally.
How do I know this?
I know this from my patients whose health improved upon safely removing their mercury amalgams:
- Like the lawyer who’s fibromyalgia symptoms were reduced by 90%;
- Like the computer salesman whose daily migraine headaches totally resolved;
- Like the MS patient who regained her fine-motor movements;
- Like the accountant whose digestion returned to normal;
- Like the too numerous to count patients who no longer ‘catch’ the flu year after year.
I could go on and on.Removing amalgam fillings safely does improve health; there’s no question
about it.
I also know this because in 1987, I became a member of the International Academy of Oral Medicine
and Toxicology (IAOMT ). It was founded in Banff, Canada, in 1984. A small group of American and
Canadian dentists and physicians, concerned about the possible ill effects of amalgam – as well as
other dental products – got together to sponsor scientific research using their own funds in this
neglected field, and teach colleagues about their findings.
A quarter-century later, the IAOMT represents over 600 health practitioners and researchers in 16
countries working together to obtain information concerning the latest interdisciplinary scientific
research. The IAOMT does not only study just dentistry; its lecturers are drawn from the fields of
medicine, physiology, toxicology, chemistry, biochemistry, risk and exposure assessment, materials
science, immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, epidemiology, cardiology, neurology, nutrition
and many other fields of science.
The IAOMT is adamant that dentistry should be based on peer-reviewed science - not on history and
tradition. It does not accept conventional wisdom or age-old paradigms. It reviews current scientific
research, explores new information and finds solutions to old problems. The IAOMT regularly funds
studies by independent medical and scientific researchers. As responsible practitioners, dentists
must always remain open to new ideas supported by reliable research. The materials and techniques
employed in modern dental practice should be biologically compatible.
The IAOMT gives its members a better understanding of periodontal disease and the toxicology of
mercury, fluoride and other dental materials. This information helps members develop their
philosophy of patient care and assists them in marketing their practices. And, IAOMT attracts
leaders. That’s how I got to meet Dr. Ilona Visser. Months before she came to the USA, everyone in
the IAOMT was talking about this little South African woman determined to change the face of South
African dentistry forever. Dr. Visser contacted IAOMT, traveled to America, learned the science,
studied and successfully passed the IAOMT accreditation examinations . She singlehandedly founded
the South African IAOMT Chapter and in 2009 organized the first SA IAOMT dental conference! A
courageous leader indeed.
The book you are about to read is an important one. Up-to-date, well researched and documented,
it is intended for patients concerned about their amalgam fillings, and dentists concerned about
doing the right thing for their patients.
It can change your life. If you’re a dentist, it can change the lives of thousands. Power be to you, the
informed.
And consider Albert Einstein’s warning:
‘‘The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing.’’
Dr Pierre Larose
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The Big Dental Lie 
