http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/oct2011/edwina1027.htm

http://www.toothwisdom.info/  <<<Edwina: click and read!

Whatever you do, do not get a root canal.  If its a normal filling needed, ask your doctor if he/she uses NON-Mercury fillings.

Malibu, California is the 3rd US city to ban mercury in dentistry. The EPA has determined that dentistry is the main source of wastewater mercury in major water treatment plants. PRWeb 2011 Oct 12 (Cached)

ARTICLE ON MERCURY UNDERSTATES DANGER
2011 Oct 14 from Dr. Paul Genung, DDS 
Dear Ed, 
The rhetoric in the article regarding handling broken light bulbs that contain mercury, is balderdash! Having studied mercury carefully for over a quarter of a century and as part of my commitment to "Health-Conscious Dentistry", I can assure you that, although the advice given in the article "sounds carefully thought out", it is totally inadequate.

I recall you carrying an article a year or two ago relating the story of a woman who broke one of these while trying to change the light bulb on the ceiling of her daughter's bedroom. She contacted several "environmental clean-up companies", and according to the article, the minimum bid for the job was $2000! She ended up taping shut the doorways to the room to "protect" against the mercury spill! I can guarantee you that such an effort has minimal effect. Mercury has the property of passing right through the glass walls of a vessel that it is being "contained" in (see my website --- www.toothwisdom.info --- go to photos. A picture is worth a thousand words). There really is no good way to contain mercury unless it is chemically bound. A plastic bag won't contain the mercury. Sweeping it up will not protect you --- it's just not quite as harmful as the vacuum cleaner method. 

It is very difficult to detoxify the human body from mercury poisoning. It is an insidious poison. It is used in over ten thousand manufactured products. However, far and away the most common human exposure to mercury is common dental fillings, thanks to my "enlightened" profession! The exposure from this source exceeds all other sources combined! 

When the Roman Legions captured enemy soldiers in battle, often these POWs were sent to the Cinnabar Mines in Spain (cinnabar is the ore form which mercury is derrived). The average life span of these happless souls, once they started working in the Cinnabar Mines, was 3 years! Remember, these were men at the peak of their physical prowess ------- late teens and early twenties --- so half of them died before 3 years. The best and safest way to deal with these light bulbs is NOT to buy them!