Removing amalgam fillings from patients with a history of health complaints dramatically reduced the number of complaints, according to a small study in Acta Odontologica Scandinavica (July 2, 2012).
"Some patients attribute health complaints to amalgam fillings and report improvement of health after replacement of amalgam fillings," wrote the study authors, from Uni Research in Norway. "The aim of the present study was to characterize the changes of different health complaints after replacement of amalgam fillings and compare with an external reference group from the general population."
The study group included 20 patients with health complaints attributed to amalgam fillings who were participants in a clinical trial at the Norwegian Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit. The patients were asked to indicate the intensity of local and general health complaints on numeric rating scales (0 to 10) before their amalgam fillings were removed and at follow-up three years later. Data from the patient group were compared with data from an external reference group (n = 441).
Before treatment, the mean intensity of complaints was on a higher level in the treatment group compared with the reference group, the researchers noted. The most frequently reported complaints were gastrointestinal symptoms, fatigue, pain from muscles and joints, symptoms from ear/nose/throat, and difficulty concentrating.
From pretreatment examination to the three-year follow-up, 20 of 23 health complaints decreased, being statistically significant for taste disturbances, pain from muscles and joints, gastrointestinal and ear/nose/throat complaints, and fatigue, the researchers reported.
