When Newbury Park dentist David Villarreal gets ready to remove an old amalgam filling, a patient might think he resembles a hazmat specialist getting ready to clean up a spill. In fact, that’s just about the way Villarreal views it. The dentist and his assistant don gas masks, contamination-free coverings and gloves so they are not exposed to the mercury in the fillings. Simultaneously, he uses a suction-system to remove the mercury particles from the air so they are not breathed by the patient. “When you have an amalgam silver-mercury filling, you have 50 percent mercury in them and that’s going to affect your blood,” maintains Villarreal, who operates a practice called BioDental Healing. Villarreal is among a growing number of dentists who practice holistic or biological dentistry. The movement maintains strong opposition to dental amalgam fillings and believes that these fillings suppress patients’ immune systems, though medical research has yet to find conclusive evidence that amalgams – made predominantly of mercury, silver, copper and tin alloy – are dangerous. Still, Villarreal has removed more than 20,000 amalgam fillings and replaced them with tooth-colored composites since he began practicing dentistry in 1984. Filling removal accounts for about 75 percent of his business. The American Dental Association’s official position is that amalgam fillings are not dangerous and that – unless falling apart – should not be removed unnecessarily. “FDA and other government affiliations have said that there is no need to remove the amalgam fillings from patients’ mouths because the research does not support that,” said American Dental Association spokesperson Robert Mackert. Villarreal replaces the amalgam with composites made of plastic and glass materials that he claims won’t suppress the patients’ immune system. Villarreal also requires his patients to take blood tests to see which materials used in composite fillings are most compatible with their bodies. Whatever the dispute about the long-term safety in amalgam fillings, there is little medical doubt that removing them requires care. Mackert, a professor at the College of Dental Medicine at Georgia Regents University in Augusta, Ga., said that removal causes a “slight elevated spike” in mercury blood levels for a few days. Villarreal said most patients pay out-of-pocket for his procedures, but did not disclose his prices – though he did say he charges a $250 consult fee. “Holistic means looking at the patient as a whole and not just their mouths,” said Villarreal. “Ultimately, it’s up to the patient to decide, it’s their body. My responsibility is to educate them, and for them to decide what they want to do.” – Champaign Williams
