Amalgam Removal: Visit Two

This time, both of us were in the chair.

Hannah went first, spending around an hour and a half being worked on. After a brief lunch break for the dentist, and not so much for us, it was my turn. Just over two hours in total for me.

During this visit, Hannah had a further three mercury fillings removed. The hope had been to remove one more and complete her amalgam removal entirely, but that will now be left for our next and final visit.

Below is a photo from the process:

-The close-up shows the rubber dam, part of the safety protocol used during amalgam removal. This isolates the single tooth being worked on so nothing enters the mouth. You can see the exposed tooth. Outside the photo is a large white suction hose that captures and removes mercury vapour during the procedure.

My own tally stood at seven mercury fillings. Yesterday, four were removed from one side, top and bottom. The remaining three will be dealt with at our next visit.

The removed fillings are replaced using composite resins. In Hannah’s case, two of the cavities were too large for composites alone, so ceramic inlays were used instead.

We left feeling sore and still slightly numb from the injections, but once again we walked away genuinely amazed by how positive the experience had been. Even, dare I say, enjoyable 😊
It is bizarre to think of a dental visit in those terms, but Dan is not only exceptionally skilled, he has a rare ability to put you at ease, build confidence, and create a sense of calm throughout the process.

This stage of our journey is about removing this highly toxic metal from our mouths and, ultimately, our bodies. It is another step in our wider healing journey 🌱

One particularly reassuring moment for both of us was Dan’s assessment of our gums. He described them as being in top health, something he attributed to our adherence to the GAPS diet. In areas where he would normally expect to see signs of decay at my age, he said there was none at all.

All of that sounds calm and collected. However, the day itself was anything but.

Around one kilometer before reaching the train station for our 8am departure to London, we had a tyre blowout. Determined not to miss the appointments, we abandoned the car on the side of a country lane and walked briskly to the station 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️ Thanks to an early start and a built-in buffer, we arrived with just three minutes to spare.

Then the train was delayed. Then cancelled.

We boarded the next service, instantly losing the half-hour buffer we had allowed for the 25-minute walk from the station to the dentist in Harley Street. A taxi became the only option. On arrival in London, we jumped straight into one, only for the driver to mishear the address and head off in entirely the wrong direction 😬 Several tense minutes later, we corrected the mistake.

In the end, we arrived just 15 minutes late, slightly frazzled but grateful to have made it at all.

And somehow, despite all of that, the day still closed on a note of calm, reassurance, and quiet gratitude 🌿
At the end of the return train journey, we set off on foot back to the car and made an attempt to replace the blown tyre with the spare. That plan quickly fell apart when we realised we could not pump the spare up. With daylight long gone and energy running low, we had little choice but to abandon the car once again and take a taxi for the final few miles home 🚕

On arrival, there was no pause. The sheep needed checking, the chickens securing for the night, and the cats and dogs fed and settled 🐑🐔🐾 Only then did we finally turn our attention to ourselves. Exhausted, sore, and quietly relieved, we eventually dropped into bed, reminded once more that this journey, much like smallholding life itself, is rarely smooth, but often deeply grounding and deeply rewarding 🌱

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