The Overlooked Connection Between Dentistry and Migraines with Dr. Amelia

So I've got another question for you.

Do you have any, um, patient cases that have changed the way you take care of people? Like take me back to the beginning when you were first deciding, "Okay, what kind of dentist do I wanna be?" What got you into holistic dentistry as opposed to just a more general type of dentistry?

Yes.

It came through my own struggles with oral health.

Um, I actually had 16 large mercury fillings in my mouth, and I decided, as I was going to school at UCLA, and I was in Hollywood going out, that I hated the metal filling look, you know, whenever I opened up my mouth, and I do have a bright, bri- broad smile.

So, uh, I said...

I told my friend, "Take them all out.

I just want white fillings.

I don't want any more metal in my mouth." So he did, and I didn't know anything at the time about removing mercury safely.

Mm-hmm.

And shortly thereafter, within a month, I had them all removed within a month, uh, I started developing headaches.

Oh.

And I was fatigued.

And I'm like, "What is going on?" You know? I, I just couldn't do my normal walks in Runyon Canyon, uh, go to the beach like I used to.

I just wanted to sleep.

Mm-hmm.

So I ran into a naturopath who said, "Well, let's do your, your, uh, heavy metal testing and see how, you know, how your heavy metals are." I'm like, "Okay, we'll do that." And sure enough, my mercury was off the charts.

Mm, I bet.

And, uh, I asked her, I was like, "Where did I get this mercury from?" And she's like, "Uh, well, you had all these mercury fillings removed.

They're 50%, uh, you know, mercury." And I didn't know that at the time that I could actually get toxic.

And then I, I remember at the point I got really upset.

How come nobody in dental school warned us about this? No one mentioned that when you cut into a mercury filling or a silver filling, right? 'Cause that's what they're called, silver amalgam fillings.

Um, nobody said that, "Hey, when you cut into this filling, there's vapors of mercury being released, and you can make your patient toxic.

Or, and what's worse, the dental team, your dentist, your assistant, will also be toxic."

Oh my gosh, wow.