Jess is 34, exhausted, foggy, and tasting metal. Her labs are normal. Then one night she counts six silver fillings in her mouth and starts asking questions nobody asked for 25 years.

In this episode: why "silver" fillings are about half mercury, what happens to that mercury every time you chew, sip something hot, or grind your teeth, why Europe banned them in 2025, the hidden mercury biologic dentists keep finding under white fillings and crowns, and why the day a filling is drilled out can be the most dangerous day of all. Plus the full safe removal checklist and the one question to ask your dentist before anyone touches your fillings.

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, do not have mercury fillings removed right now. Next episode explains why.

Find a vetted biologic dentist in the OraBiologics app: www.orabiologics.com

Research mentioned:
FDA 2020 recommendations on dental amalgam: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-issues-recommendations-certain-high-risk-groups-regarding-mercury-containing-dental-amalgam
EU ban on dental amalgam from January 1, 2025: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/05/30/council-signs-off-on-measures-to-make-the-eu-mercury-free/
Vimy and Lorscheider, 1985, intraoral mercury vapor after chewing: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3860538/
Sandborgh-Englund et al., 1998, mercury in blood after amalgam removal: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9539465/

Jess is a composite patient built from real cases, with details changed. This episode is for education only and is not medical or dental advice. Talk with a qualified provider about your own care.

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Pulling a tooth isn't always the end of the story. Sometimes it's the beginning of a new one.

Marcus had his wisdom teeth out at 19. At 38, a 3D scan found a hollow pocket in his jaw, right where one of those teeth used to be. Meanwhile, Dana's two root canal teeth are finally coming out, and we go into the room to see what getting it out right actually looks like.

You'll learn:
- What the ligament left behind in a socket can do to healing
- How much bone your jaw can lose in the months after an extraction
- The biologic extraction steps, from 3D scan to rebuild
- The heated debate over jawbone cavitations, from both sides
- The one question to ask before any tooth comes out

Find a vetted biologic dentist in the OraBiologics app: www.orabiologics.com

Research referenced:
- Schropp et al., Bone healing and soft tissue contour changes following single-tooth extraction, 2003: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12956475/
- American Association of Endodontists, position statement on NICO lesions: https://www.aae.org/specialty/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/06/nicolesionsnew.pdf
- Neuralgia-inducing cavitational osteonecrosis (NICO): a scoping review, Archives of Oral Biology, 2026: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003996926000439

This show is for education only, not medical or dental advice. Patient stories are anonymized composites.

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A root canal stops the pain. But it doesn't stop the problem. It removes the alarm.

In Part 2, Dana's 3D scan reveals a second root canal she'd completely forgotten, sitting right under the sinus that had been stuffed up for six years. We go inside the tooth to find out what lives there, and where it goes.

You'll learn:
- Why a root canal tooth can't warn you when something's wrong
- The tough bacteria researchers keep finding in failed root canals
- How an upper back tooth can quietly drain into your sinus
- Why one-sided sinus trouble deserves a look at your teeth
- The one question to ask your dentist this week

If you've had sinus infections that keep coming back, this episode could be the piece you've been missing.

Find a vetted biologic dentist in the OraBiologics app: www.orabiologics.com

Research referenced:
- American Association of Endodontists, Maxillary Sinusitis of Endodontic Origin: https://www.aae.org/specialty/maxillary-sinusitis-of-endodontic-origin/
- The Influence of Enterococcus faecalis as a Dental Root Canal Pathogen: A Systematic Review (Cureus): https://www.cureus.com/articles/28829-the-influence-of-enterococcus-faecalis-as-a-dental-root-canal-pathogen-on-endodontic-treatment-a-systematic-review
- Zinc as a growth factor for Aspergillus and root canal sealants: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7614168/

This show is for education only, not medical or dental advice. Patient stories are anonymized composites.

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Your dentist says root canals are 97% successful. But where did that number come from, and what did it actually measure?

In this episode, we follow Dana, a patient whose "saved" tooth never hurt again while her health slowly slipped away. Then we read the fine print behind dentistry's most famous statistic.

You'll learn:
- The difference between a tooth that survives and a tooth that actually heals
- Why flat dental X-rays can miss more than half of root tip infections
- Why "no pain" doesn't mean "no problem"
- The one question to ask your dentist this week

If you have a root canal, this could be the piece you've been missing.

Find a vetted biologic dentist in the OraBiologics app: www.orabiologics.com

Research referenced:
- Salehrabi & Rotstein, Journal of Endodontics, 2004: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15564861/
- American Association of Endodontists, CBCT in Diagnosis (2018): https://www.aae.org/specialty/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/COL042Spring2018CBCTinDiagnosis.pdf
- Cardiovascular Disease and Chronic Endodontic Infection, Systematic Review (2021): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34501699/

This show is for education only, not medical or dental advice. Patient stories are anonymized composites.

Support the show