{"id":3379,"date":"2015-10-25T08:06:21","date_gmt":"2015-10-25T08:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biomedpharmajournal.org\/?p=3379"},"modified":"2017-01-07T05:51:20","modified_gmt":"2017-01-07T05:51:20","slug":"effect-of-electro-magnetic-field-emf-on-dental-amalgam-and-general-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biomedpharmajournal.org\/staging\/vol8octoberspledition\/effect-of-electro-magnetic-field-emf-on-dental-amalgam-and-general-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Effect of Electro Magnetic Field (Emf) on Dental Amalgam and General Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is energy in waves emitted from a source. This energy is both electric and magnetic. The waves\u00a0alternate rapidly, from positive to negative in electrical terms, and\u00a0from North to South pole in magnetic terms. Electricity and magnetism are very closely related in nature. When an alternating magnetic wave penetrates a body an alternating electric current will flow inside that body. \u00a0Electromagnetic radiation from a source penetrates the surrounding area, creating an electromagnetic field (EMF).\u00a0 <\/strong>Hence an\u00a0electromagnetic field\u00a0is a physical\u00a0field\u00a0produced by\u00a0electrically charged objects. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>It affects the behavior of objects in the vicinity of the field.\u00a0 The EMF is strongest at the source, and weakens with increasing distance until it becomes too small to measure. <\/strong>\u00a0Almost all metals in the EMF are affected by the EMR. This includes the amalgam fillings in particular and other metal restorations and components of prosthesis and appliances and the dental implants.<\/p>\n

Even humans beings are store house of different bio-electrical fields. The muscles and hence the body move and different organs like heart function due to the bio electric stimulus.\u00a0 In fact I saw an article and demonstration on how the musculo-skeletal bio-electric impulses can be harnessed to duplicate the human hand movement in robotics through electrical leads from a human hand to a robotic arm. (1). These bio-electrical mechanism which smoothly maintain our lives can be altered through external interfering EMR. This often results in varying types of stress one suffers. Any type of stress result in two types of responses.\u00a0 One, neurological which is comparatively immediate and less harmful and the other is chemical and more harmful as it loads the system with adrenaline and glucocorticoids and its resultant effects in the body.(2)<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s most offices run computer assisted in their administrative area. There are a lot more offices and industries that work on larger Hi-Tech computers and machineries.\u00a0 These have their own large servers and uninterrupted power supplies (UPS).\u00a0 These computers, servers, UPS and Computer aided machineries are rich sources of EMR\u2019s they create an EMF expanding to large areas of office space. Added to this due to constrain in the office spaces in many establishments, a large number of employees may have their seats within the EMF.\u00a0 Further life has introduced a lot of devices, gadgets and machineries, which has made our life more comfortable or rather less active along with a lot more of EMF around us.\u00a0 This includes the laptop computers, PDA\u2019s, mobile phones etc.\u00a0 Most people are unaware of the ill effects of EMR to dental restorations and health.<\/p>\n

A Case Report<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a true health incidence that happened to an acquaintance of mine and I think all practicing dentists should be aware of such conditions in the current Hi-Tech world.\u00a0 Most of the sentences stated here are, what this person has expressed.\u00a0 The affected person is a male aged 50 years, with weight 110 kilograms, physically active with no relevant medical problems like hypertension, diabetes etc. except that he has undergone a few surgeries after a road traffic accident over twenty five years prior to the problem stated here.\u00a0 He was an engineer in the merchant navy for about twenty years. He then switched over to a shore job in information technology related with shipping.<\/p>\n

His new job was in an office and his work-station was placed adjacent to a server room and a battery back up [inverter] room. The distance between his workstation and the server and the battery backup was within 2 feet. He had been in this job where he worked with a laptop for about 3 years. But the new environment (workstation) was provided to him since 3 months.<\/p>\n

The symptoms he suffered and that started soon after shifting to the new worksite, as told by him were, “I was having feverish feeling,\u00a0 body ache by the end of the working day, tiredness by the end of the day, on and off tingling of the filling in tooth\u00a0cavities, tense ? anxiety ? to the extend of disturbed sleep.\u00a0 These were generally\u00a0mistaken as and related to stress related reactions (on enquiry he told – by himself and his family members including a physician in the family).\u00a0Until started feeling a spell of very short disorientation almost as a short black out.\u00a0 This and other symptoms felt did not match with any other age related difficulties as (these symptoms) had been only since moving to the new job site. The BP was checked with a small battery operated unit during and after work and had been found normal (he had a close relative who was a physician as mentioned earlier)”.\u00a0 He underwent a number of investigations, which included blood tests (routine counts, chemistry and enzymes) imaging and scans which all showed no significant alteration from the normal.<\/p>\n

He was sure that he suffered but hesitated to seek further medical help through counseling because he did not know how and what to tell the doctor and he was not keen on taking any medicines unless the cause is established. Further in his own words he narrated the following:<\/p>\n

“After self assessment of all changes in life style and difficulty experienced, everything zeroed down to the change in work station.\u00a0 So I Googled\u00a0 <working near server room>\u00a0 and I went through the following sites:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. http:\/\/scholar.google.co.in\/scholar?q=emf+radiation+studies&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart<\/li>\n
  2. http:\/\/www.edugeek.net\/forums\/general-chat\/12537-working-server-room.html<\/li>\n
  3. http:\/\/scholar.google.co.in\/scholar?q=effect+of+emf+on+teeth+fillings&btnG=Search&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_vis=1<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I was surprised and happy to note that the web page displayed a range of symptoms, many which I could relate to such as the ones mentioned below.\u00a0 Symptoms of Electrohypersensitivity or Radio Wave Sickness in the article mentioned the following.<\/p>\n

    Neurological symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

    headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, irritability, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, weakness, tremors, muscle spasms, numbness, tingling, altered reflexes, muscle and joint paint, leg\/foot pain, flu-like symptoms, fever\u2026<\/p>\n

    Cardiac symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

    palpitations, \u00a0pain or pressure in the chest..<\/p>\n

    Ophthalmologic symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

    pain or burning in the eyes, pressure in\/behind the eyes, deteriorating vision, floaters..<\/p>\n

    Others<\/strong><\/p>\n

    dryness of lips, tongue, mouth, eyes; deteriorating fillings;\u00a0ringing in the ears etc.<\/p>\n

    As the list was extensive, there was a possibility of me \u2018seeing only what I wanted to see\u2019 and ending up with assumptions.\u00a0 The tooth tingling was a rare one, as explained the filling was acting as independent antenna and probably absorbing energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

    This person told the office regarding the cause and effect on his health and had his work-station was moved away from the EMF and was totally relieved of all the sufferings. This is not just to understand one more cause for a tingling sensation in a filling but for many other reasons mentioned below.<\/p>\n

    Discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The reported case is not an isolated incidence. There are reports of similar incidences in the medical journals and world wide web.(3) This author also had a similar episode of a patient who visited her after seeing about twenty different physicians for her problem of “nightly adrenaline rushes,\u201d which produced a racing heartbeat that kept her from being able to sleep after having a titanium dental implant put in and worsened after having a second titanium dental implant put in. Most physicians she consulted did a number of ‘standard of care’ tests but could not find the cause of this patient’s distress and finally she was prescribed antidepressants and sleeping pills. This patient also had extensive dental work which included amalgam fillings, metal crowns, porcelain\u00adfused\u00adto\u00admetal crowns and root canal treatments. The author also states that after she removed the mercury\u00adamalgam fillings and the permanent metal retainer from this patient, she experienced a lessening of her symptoms.<\/p>\n

    In a discussion on this subject of EMR\u00a0 Lina Garcia,(3) has mentioned that the amalgam fillings and any metal restorations can act as an antenna for microwave transmission of any radiation in close range. These can result in a new kind of electromagnetic stress for the human body. \u00a0Further there are reports from other workers as well regarding the possible effects on amalgam on EMRs.(4) \u00a0These results apart from galvanic deterioration and its effect on health the deterioration suffered by amalgam due to the microwave attracting stress.(5) It has been stated that the EMR can affect people of all age and women seem to be more affected than men. It has also been reported that the effect is more on menopausal women.(3) \u00a0The author also rightly inform that slowly there are many who find out for themselves the effect of EMR on themselves from their work place after their health get affected and for many it may not likely be a pleasant experience of discovery.<\/p>\n

    It has been reported by many that dissimilar metal restorations in the mouth with amalgam restorations produce electrical currents, which increase mercury vapor release. (6-8). It has also been observed that corroded amalgam has tendency to volatilize more mercury (9,10) It has also been reported about the volatility of mercury from amalgam restorations on exposure to EMRs.(5).\u00a0 This study has also found that individuals having amalgam fillings who have long period of exposure to EMF or MRIs have higher levels of mercury exposure and excretion (5). And there are a number of articles published on the harmful, allergic and vague symptoms caused by mercury released from dental amalgam fillings (11-20). These undiagnosed symptoms are a result of high stress for many individuals.\u00a0 It is also an accepted fact that when an individual is stressed it results in a host of excessive enzyme and hormonal activities.\u00a0 Many of these result in suppressing the immune system and create symptoms of diseases not traceable to any commonly known pathological causes. Though there are no strong proven causal effects of mercury from amalgam being the cause for many vague symptoms of diseases, there are many anecdotal incidences of remission of neurological, cardiac, dermatological, endocrinological and dental symptoms after replacement of amalgam restorations.\u00a0 At the same time it is worthwhile to advice anybody to reduce their exposure to EMR by keeping away from EMF through reducing the amount of time spent in or near the computer server room and battery back up areas.<\/p>\n

    Further, studies have to be conducted to determine stress suffered and its health effect on individuals of different age groups, both sexes and determine the tolerance level, safety level and relate these with the quantity of metal in the mouth of an individual.<\/p>\n

    Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

    There is an increase in the reporting of symptoms related to\u00a0\u00a0 depression and anxiety.\u00a0 Many of these could be stress related.\u00a0 From the reported data of causal effects of EMF on metal restorations, it is concluded that dentists should seriously take into consideration the working environment of the patient when suggesting metal restorations and wherever possible metal free restorations should be an option.<\/p>\n

    References<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. http:\/\/www4.ncsu.edu\/~bbalago\/HUMAN%20COMPUTER%20INTERFACE%20USING%20EMG%20SIGNALS%20-%20HAND%20GESTURE% 20BASED%20MANIPULATOR%20CONTROL.pdf (downloaded on02.2015)<\/li>\n
    2. McLeod, S. A. (2010). What is the Stress Response. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.simplypsychology.org\/stress-biology.html<\/li>\n
    3. https:\/\/iabdm.org\/education\/articles\/has-the-dental-work-in-your-mouth-turned-you-into-a-walking-antenna\/ downloaded on 22.02.2015)<\/li>\n
    4. J.Certosimo et al, National Naval Dental Center, “Oral Electricity”, Gen Dent, 1996, 44(4):324\u00ad6;<\/li>\n
    5. Ortendahl T W, Mercury vapor release from dental amalgam in vitro caused by magnetic fields generated by CRT’s, Swed Dent J 1991 p 31<\/li>\n
    6. Walker RS, et al. Galvanic interaction between gold and amalgam: effect of zinc, time and surface treatments. J Am Dent Assoc. 2003 Nov;134(11):1463\u00ad7.<\/li>\n
    7. D.Meyer et al, Intraoral galvanic corrosion. Prosthet Dent, 1993,69(2):141\u00ad3.<\/li>\n
    8. Olsson et al, Release of elements due to electrochemical corrosion of dental amalgam. J of Dental Research, 1994, 73:33\u00ad43.<\/li>\n
    9. B. Boyer, Mercury vaporization from corroded dental amalgam. Dental Materials, 1988, 4:89\u00ad93<\/li>\n
    10. Berglund, A study of the release of mercury vapor from different types of amalgam alloys, J Dent Res, 1993, 72:939\u00ad946.<\/li>\n
    11. Windham, Annotated Bibliography: Exposure and Health Effects Related to Mercury\/ Amalgam\u00a0 and Clincal Results of Amalgam Replacement; 2002. www.home.earthlink.net\/~berniew1\/amalg6.html<\/li>\n
    12. Kucerova H, et al. Influence of galvanic phenomena on the occurrence of allergic symptoms in the mouth. Gen Dent. 2002 Jan\u00ad Feb;50(1):62\u00ad5.<\/li>\n
    13. Toumelin\u00adChemla F et al. Unusual in vivo extensive corrosion of a low\u00adsilver amalgam restoration involving galvanic coupling: a case report. Quintessence Int. 2003 Apr;34(4):287\u00ad94;<\/li>\n
    14. Cheshire William P. Jr. The shocking truth about trigeminal neuralgia. New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 342, June 29, 2000, p. 2003<\/li>\n
    15. Buchner et al, Amalgam tattoo of the oral mucosa: a clinic-patholigic study of 268 cases, Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol, 1980, 49(2):139\u00ad47.<\/li>\n
    16. Forsell et al, Mercury content in amalgam tattoos of human oral mucosa and its relation to local tissue reactions. Euro J Oral Sci 1998; 106(1):582\u00ad7.<\/li>\n
    17. Weaver T, et al. Amalgam tattoo as a cause of local and systemic disease. Oral Surg. Oral Med. Oral Pathol. 1987;63:137\u00ad 40;<\/li>\n
    18. D. Rose et al, The tarnished history of a posteria restoration. Br Dent J 1998;185(9):436;<\/li>\n
    19. Lorscheider et al. \u00a0Mercury Exposure from silver fillings, The Lancet Vol 337; May 4, 1991.<\/li>\n
    20. Inovay J, et al. (1961) The role of electrical potential differences in the etiology of chronic diseases of the oral mucosa. Journal of Dental Research, 40, 884.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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