 Now that the FDA in the USA has deemed amalgam mercury fillings unsafe its time the Irish Dental Association made changes to its website to change the erroneous rhetoric regarding this topic
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally admitted that metal dental fillings containing mercury can cause health problems in pregnant women, children and fetuses.
As part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by several consumer advocacy groups, the FDA agreed to alert consumers about the potential risks on its Web site and to issue a more specific rule next year for fillings that contain mercury.
The FDA’s Web site now states that: "Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses."
An about turn at last on all of FDA's claims that no science exists that amalgam is unsafe. Finally, the FDA has owned up to the fact that permanently installing a toxic substance like mercury inside of your mouth is not such a good idea, at least for those most at risk:
- • Pregnant and nursing women
- • Children
- • Fetuses
- • People with already high levels of mercury bioburden
- • Those who are sensitive to mercury exposure
Its time for the Irish Dental Association to update the erroneous statements it has on their website stating “No Government or reputable scientific, medical or dental body anywhere in the world accepts, on any published evidence, that dental amalgam is a hazard to health” which is untrue.
Dental amalgam fillings -- which are made from about 50 percent mercury and the rest an amalgam of silver, tin, copper, zinc and other metals -- have been used for more than 150 years, in an estimated 100 million fillings each year in the United States alone. Personally It amazes me how it’s gone on that long.
Mercury is a potent toxin that can damage your brain, central nervous system and kidneys. Children and fetuses, whose brains are still developing, are most at risk, but really anyone can be impacted. I find it quite ironic, not to mention unsettling, that the metallic mercury used by dentists to manufacture dental amalgam is shipped as a hazardous material to the dental clinic. Any amalgam leftover is also treated as hazardous and requires special precautions to dispose of.
Yet, most dentists will readily implant this hazardous material directly into your mouth, with assurances that it’s perfectly safe and harmless. Its great that there is some governmental associations who now at least give this issue some lip service. However it will be a long time before dental associations admit they’re wrong about amalgams. The economic consequences of all those lawsuits would devastate the profession. They maintain that mercury fillings are “highly resistant to wear,” but what they don’t tell you is that when amalgam fillings are placed in teeth or removed from teeth, they release mercury vapor. More importantly, every time you chew food or brush your teeth, these fillings also release toxic mercury vapour.
Just How Much Mercury Do These Fillings Release?
Remember, any kind of stimulation can cause these fillings to release mercury. Eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, grinding your teeth, chewing gum, anything.
Mercury vapour from the amalgams passes readily through cell membranes, across the blood-brain barrier, and into your central nervous system, where it causes psychological, neurological, and immunological problems.
For an interesting comparison, consider that scientists recently made a wise warning about eating mercury-contaminated seafood stating that “pregnant women should limit their intake of swordfish, tuna, shark and king mackerel because of their high levels of mercury, which can cause brain damage in unborn children”. Well, eating such seafood will expose you to about 2.3 micrograms of mercury a day. A single dental amalgam filling, meanwhile, releases as much as 15 micrograms of mercury per day. But that’s not all. The average person has eight amalgam fillings and could absorb up to 120 micrograms of mercury per day. Clearly this is cause for urgent action to be taken. I was no different, I had 7 fillings by the time I left primary school.
What to Do if You Have Mercury Fillings
I do not believe that pregnant women and children are the only ones who need to worry about the mercury in silver dental fillings. I highly suggest that if you need to get a filling, you specifically ask your dentist for a white composite filling which is an inert material that will not harm your health.
If you want to get existing silver mercury fillings removed however its not a simple or straight forward process there is a few things you should know. It can be dangerous to go to a dentist who is unaware of the safety issues of taking out amalgams. When you have these fillings removed you can be exposed to significant amounts of mercury vapours if the procedure is not done with extra safety measures.
Do your research and seek out a dentist qualified in this area. Some things that need to be done to keep you (and your dentist) safe during the procedure include:
- • Providing you with an alternative air source and instructing you not to breath through your mouth
- • Using a cold-water spray to minimize mercury vapours
- • Putting a rubber dam in your mouth so you don’t swallow or inhale any toxins
- • Using a high-volume evacuator near the tooth at all times to evacuate the mercury vapour
- • Washing your mouth out immediately after the fillings have been removed (the dentist should also change gloves after the removal)
- • Immediately cleaning your protective wear and face once the fillings are removed
- • Using room air purifiers
The British Society for Mercury Free Dentistry have a few practitioners in Ireland who should provide these safety measures.
Its important to ensure that your organs of elimination and detoxification mechanisms are optimized prior to and after removal. There are some herbal medicines that are great for enhancing the organs of elimination and there are specific herbs that are mercury chelators, which will bind to and eliminate mercury from the body.
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