Breakthrough at FDA – hearings on mercury toxicity from amalgam!!

[Guest guest]

Thank You Randall Lutter and Brodsky!

And thank you Brown

Thanks for sending this our way Ilena! One of these

days it will be OUR turn!

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Breakthrough at FDA – hearings on mercury toxicity

from amalgam!!

In a dramatic break from its policy of

protecting pro-mercury dentistry, FDA has announced it

will hold public hearings about “potential mercury

toxicity” from amalgam, especially its

“neurotoxicity.” In addition, FDA has at last begun

to pry control of this issue away from the American

Dental Association -- a neurology-based advisory

committee has been added to hear the evidence on

neurotoxicity. FDA’s announcement:

http://www.fda.gov/oc/advisory/accalendar/2006/cdrh12518dd09060706.html

Until now, as you probably know, FDA has

been the silent partner to the American Dental

Association in protecting (even promoting) mercury

fillings. Disregarding the science and operating in

secret, FDA said amalgam’s mercury caused only

“allergies,” while it wrongly gave control of the

process to ADA dentists (plainly unqualified -- and

conflicted as well). But thanks to the involvement of

two high-ranking officials -- Associate Commissioner

Randall Lutter and Associate Commissioner

Brodsky -- this may change. These two Associate

Commissioners met with us last fall, agreed to take up

the issue more seriously, and, I guess, read my

barrage of letters. So here’s the good news:

* FDA has opened its doors for two days of public

hearings, in Gaithersburg, Md. (a Washington suburb)

on Sept. 6 and 7.

* FDA will conduct an inquiry into the “potential

mercury toxicity” from dental amalgam, “specifically

as it relates to neurotoxic effects.”

* The emerging issue becomes not filling teeth

but harm to developing brains of children, to unborn

babies, and to all of us.

What you can do: Write and thank

Associate Commissioner Randall Lutter,

RLutter@... <mailto:RLutter@...>, and

Associate Commissioner Brodsky,

JBrodsky@... <mailto:JBrodsky@...>; ask

them to keep the focus on mercury toxicity, and to

remove dentists from being in charge of regulating

mercury fillings.

The breakthrough is historic, to be sure.

But let’s not be naïve … hearings can presage action

… or be a classic Washington stall tactic. To date,

FDA has not changed its official position on amalgam

-- no classifying, no pre-market approval, no warnings

to pregnant women and children, no disclosure of the

mercury. While we praise these FDA officials for

introducing the mercury toxicity issue, Consumers for

Dental Choice must still consider a challenge to FDA’s

regulation of amalgam.

Still, we must celebrate. By opening up

the mercury toxicity issue, it will be hard for FDA to

put that genie back into the bottle. For the two-day

hearing in September, we must make an unimpeachable

scientific record, bring in substantial public

participation, and encourage widespread press and

Congressional attention.

Charlie, 4/5/06

G. Brown, National Counsel

Consumers for Dental Choice

1725 K St., N.W., Suite 511, Washington, DC 20006

Ph. 202.822-6307; fax 822-6309

charlie@...

<mailto:charlie@...>,

www.toxicteeth.org <http://www.toxicteeth.org/>