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The basic theory behind oral galvanism is that placing two different metals in a solution (in this case saliva) will cause a current to be created. Alternative practitioners believe that the small current that is generated by this "oral battery" can interfere with the normal energy pathways in the body. Furthermore, the more dissimilar the metals, the more likely oral galvanism is to occur. For example, two amalgam fillings would be less likely to lead to galvanism than would a gold crown and an amalgam filling. Different people also have different tolerances to differing amounts of oral galvanism. Therefore, an amount of current that could cause one person symptoms might have no effect on another person with the same amount of current. Additionally, the use of mercury in amalgam fillings has led many alternative practitioners to believe that mercury is being "leeched" from the fillings into the body. The first device that was used to identify fillings causing oral galvanism was developed by Hal A. Huggins, D.D.S. in the 1980s. The device was known as an Amalgameter. At the time, the device was marketed as being important in determining what order to remove dental fillings in cases of oral galvanism. Huggins claimed that mercury "vapors" were being emitted from dental fillings and that the order in which fillings were removed was important, with the most "negatively charged" needing to be removed first. The first device was a battery-powered ammeter that measured the flow of electrical current. The patient held the ground component against the inner cheek, while a probe was held against the tooth/filling. Coincidentally, Huggins' license to practice dentistry was revoked in 1996 for marketing this device, which the courts concluded was "a sham, illusory and without scientific basis." Huggins subsequently appears to have begun remarketing a device known as the "Rita Meter" in 2003. This device appears to be strikingly similar to the Amalgameter.
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