thanks molly- phew. i had read something earlier and it alarmed me.
http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/oral_detoxification.html
here is the abbreviated/edited version of the link.
Oral Detoxification Programs
Ted from Bangkok writes, "There are actually many kinds of mouth detox, but the ones I use most frequently are:
5. Heavy metal Detox. Oil pulling with peppermint oil, or in some cases added tea tree. Cod liver oil I think is better than sunflower oil, but the problem seems obvious, they are not easily found and quite expensive.
Oil pulling removes heavy metals from your body, including the heavy metal filings with exception of ceramic fillings. All this is just my experience. You have to decide yourself to do oil pulling or not. If you don't want to rid of fillings and hence heavy metals, then oil pulling should not be done. A preferred remedy that has less negative effect then oil pulling is a simple mouth detox, which is simply saturated solution baking soda and one drop peppermint mouthwash. This one will have the least problems in that it doesn't remove the fillings, but seems to be protective of enamel degradation. Ted"