Palladium / Dental Danger Alloy

by Dra. Corinne Vizcarra D.D.S

Palladium ( Pd ) is a silver-white ductile and malleable metal that belongs to the platinum group. It is atomic weight is 106; it is melting point 1557 degrees Celsius. Palladium is found in the platinum mines of Russia, Canada, Columbia, and is used in electrical contacts, as a catalyst and in gold, silver and copper alloys.

The use of Palladium in dentistry dates back to 1986, and health insurance supported its use for what seem to be economic reasons only. German Holistic medical doctors refer to palladium as the "fools gold" of dentistry, because it may be more dangerous than Mercury. The amount of Palladium used in the making on dental crowns varies considerably. The more durable "gold" and "silver" fillings or crowns may contain up to 78.5% of this heavy metal. Like Mercury, Palladium is biomethylated in the digestive tract and once synthesized these methylated metals arc invariable more toxic than their inorganic substrates.

This toxicity is thought to be due to the nonpolar nature of many organometallic compounds which allows them to diffuse rapidly into and though cell membranes. Dr. Elef Karkalis, MD of Oppenheim, Germany believes that methylated palladium is more than methylated mercury, which is known to cause severe neurological disorders, including insanity, Methylmercury interacts with phosphollipids, causing neurotoxicity, Methyl mercury poisoning has affected people in Japan, Guatemala, The Soviet Union and Iraq, and the industrial dumping of mercury into Lake St. Clair touched off hunt for mercury -contaminated fish that invariably caused human illness. Since palladium is easily methylated, it is considered to be equally or possible more dangerous to the health than mercury, and the extensive use of palladium amalgam may indeed be a fool's choice.

By exchanging "GOLD" with other metals such as NICKEL, COBALT, COPPER and GALLIUM this replacement therapy may be more expensive healthwise.

Dr. Karkalis is most concerned about enzyme-blocking function of palladium. He specifies early symptoms of palladium over exposure as:

Chronic fatigue, allergies, headaches, lymph node swelling and immune weakness.

Symptoms of advance toxicity:

Bronchitis, muscle and join pain, memory loss, digestive and nervous disorder, weight loss, chronic sinusitis and tinnitus, excessive sweating, neuralgia, facial paralysis, depression, sleeping disorders and muscle weakness.

According to German sources, gold fillings contain a maximum of 18 percent Gold (Au) and aside from containing palladium, other metal compounds such as silver may be used.

Metallic Silver (Ag) has been reported as a solid state carcinogen, while soluble compounds of Ag, increased DNA miscopying in vitro.

The deterioration of metallic compounds such as mercury, silver and palladium amalgams increases the oral intake of potentially toxic metals, yet unlike mercury amalgams, which are known to slow induce symptoms of mercury toxicity, palladium amalgams seem to induce toxicity problems much sooner.

Palladium, used in Gold fillings since 1986, may be more toxic than mercury. Some Gold fillings like crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays contain up to 78.5% palladium (Pd).