A 7-year prospective quasi-experimental study of the effects of removing dental amalgam in 76 self-referred patients compared with 146 controls

Nerdrum, Per; Malt, Ulrik Fredrik; Høglend, Per; Oppedal, Bjorn; Gundersen, Roger; Holte, Martin; Lone, Jostein

doi:10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00542-7

Cited by 34 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Several, mainly observational, trials have reported the improvement of various complaints after amalgam removal (Nerdrum et al, 2004;Lygre et al, 2005;Tillberg et al, 2005), while recent randomized trials showed no specific health effects of amalgam restorations in children (Bellinger et al, 2006;DeRouen et al, 2006). In our trial, amalgam removal was associated with a marked reduction in the participants' subjective health complaints.…”

Section: J Dent Res 87(4) 2008supporting

confidence: 43%

Treatment of Health Complaints Attributed to Amalgam

et al. 2008

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Treatment of health complaints attributed to amalgamMelchart, D; Vogt, S; Köhler, W; Streng, A; Weidenhammer, W; Kremers, L; Hickel, R; Felgenhauer, N; Zilker, T; Wühr, E; Halbach, S Abstract: The aim of the present study was to compare the reduction of subjective complaints by 3 treatment strategies in 90 "amalgam patients" whose complaints could not be explained by a medical or psychological disorder. The individuals were randomly assigned either to removal of dental amalgam only (removal group), or removal in combination with a "biological detoxification" therapy with high doses of vitamins and trace elements (removal-plus group), or participation in a health promotion program without removal of dental amalgam (no-removal group). Between baseline and month 12, the sum score of main complaints decreased by 3.5 (SD = 2.2) points on average in the removal group as well as in the removal-plus group, and by 2.5 (SD = 2.4) points in the no-removal group (p = 0.152). Both removal groups showed a significant decrease in steady-state levels of inorganic mercury compared with the no-removal group. Thus, all 3 interventions were associated with clinically relevant improvements.

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Section: J Dent Res 87(4) 2008supporting

confidence: 43%

Treatment of Health Complaints Attributed to Amalgam

et al. 2008

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“…16 and P=.10, respectively; TABLE 2). The numbers of restored surfaces were greatest shortly after entry into the study due to unmet dental needs.…”

Section: Exposure To Dental Materialsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Neuropsychological and Renal Effects of Dental Amalgam in Children

Bellinger¹,

Trachtenberg²,

Barregård³

et al. 2006

JAMA

232

150

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“…Several studies have reported that patients experience improved health after amalgam removal (Lygre et al, 2005;Melchart et al, 2008;Nerdrum et al, 2004;Sjursen et al, 2011). This has also been described in the qualitative studies performed within this field (Jones, 2004;Stahlnacke & Soderfeldt, 2013).…”

Section: T T Sjursen Et Almentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Studies investigating changes in general health complaints after removal of amalgam fillings have found reductions in health complaints (Lygre et al, 2005;Melchart et al, 2008;Nerdrum et al, 2004;Sjursen et al, 2011), but not to the levels found in the general population (Lygre et al, 2005;Nerdrum et al, 2004). The observed reductions in health complaints might be interpreted as effects of patients being seen and heard, improved dental conditions, the natural variation in the course of the complaints, reduced exposure to mercury, as well as placebo effect and discontinued nocebo effect (Melchart et al, 2008;Nerdrum et al, 2004;Sjursen et al, 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The observed reductions in health complaints might be interpreted as effects of patients being seen and heard, improved dental conditions, the natural variation in the course of the complaints, reduced exposure to mercury, as well as placebo effect and discontinued nocebo effect (Melchart et al, 2008;Nerdrum et al, 2004;Sjursen et al, 2011). Because of difficulties in masking whether patients have their amalgam fillings removed or not, randomized clinical trials of the effects of amalgam removal are likely to be influenced by participants' expectations.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patients' experiences of changes in health complaints before, during, and after removal of dental amalgam

2016

Br Dent J

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In this article, we explore how patients with health complaints attributed to dental amalgam experienced and gave meaning to changes in health complaints before, during, and after removal of all amalgam fillings. We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with 12 participants from the treatment group in a Norwegian amalgam removal trial. Interviews took place within a couple months of the final follow-up 5 years after amalgam removal. Using the NVivo9 software, we conducted an explorative and reflective thematic analysis and identified the following themes: Something is not working: betrayed by the body, You are out there on your own, Not being sure of the importance of amalgam removal, The relief experienced after amalgam removal, and To accept, to give up, or to continue the search. We discuss the findings in the context of patients' assigning meaning to illness experiences.

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A 7-year prospective quasi-experimental study of the effects of removing dental amalgam in 76 self-referred patients compared with 146 controls

Cited by 34 publications

References 29 publications

Treatment of Health Complaints Attributed to Amalgam

Treatment of Health Complaints Attributed to Amalgam

Neuropsychological and Renal Effects of Dental Amalgam in Children

Patients' experiences of changes in health complaints before, during, and after removal of dental amalgam

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