Mercury as a toxin is old news. We’ve been alerted: it’s in our fish, in our water, and in our air. It’s been removed from paint. Mercurial chrome is no longer used to heal cuts. When an old thermometer breaks, or a high school science lab has an accidental spill, the area is treated like a radioactive site.
The only place mercury seems to continue showing up is in fillings. Is that such a good thing?
The Problem with Mercury Fillings
Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, and Japan have all banned or regulated the use of amalgams in dental fillings due to public health concerns. In the U.S., amalgam use is unrestricted. While most dentist offices have switched to modern practices using resin composites or porcelain, “assembly line” dentists generally located in lower-income areas, Appalachia, and Native American reservations still opt to treat their patients’ cavities with the lower-cost mercury or amalgam fillings. The upside to continuing amalgam use: The silver fillings are less expensive because they are easy and quick to insert, making it possible to fill more cavities daily.
The American Dental Association (ADA) maintains that there are no controlled studies that demonstrate systematic adverse effects from amalgam restorations. The Center for Disease Control and Federal Drug Association (FDA) report that the decline in amalgam use is due to the decrease in popularity for the material and stronger substitutes. But Charles Brown, a DC-based lawyer for the Coalition for Mercury-Free Dentistry, points out that mercury is actually more toxic than arsenic and lead, and argues that having it in our mouths is risky. “It kills you in enough quantity. It’s in your mouth for years. Its vapors are coming off much more rapidly than other metals because it’s already liquid,” he explains. Mercury accumulates and does not leave the body quickly. “Most things you sweat out. Mercury clumps. It’s a neural toxin. It harms the brain permanently.”
The Fight to Ban Mercury Fillings
Completely nixing oral mercury use hasn’t been so easy. Currently, California, Connecticut, and Maine have issued mandates that require dentists to give patients a risk sheet, and in April 2006, the FDA announced it would hold public hearings about “potential mercury toxicity,” but amalgams remain legal.
PREVIOUS PAGE
