RTM: my.webmd.com: McKeown: mercury amalgam toxicity 8.13.1 rmforall

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RTM: my.webmd.com: McKeown: mercury amalgam toxicity 8.13.1 rmforall

Original article:

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1685.52119

http://my.webmd.com/printing/article/1685.52119

Filling Sick Lately?

The argument over whether mercury in silver dental

fillings is dangerous has spilled over into the courts,

with a consumer advocacy group accusing the

American Dental Association of deliberately misleading the

public -- and endangering health.

By L.A. McKeown WebMD Medical News

Aug. 13, 2001 -- Anita Vazquez Tibau always considered herself healthy.

A dance major in college, she was fit and rarely sick. But in her early

20s, while vacationing with her husband, she suffered the first of many

asthma attacks that would plague her over the next 20 years.

" Simply staying alive became a major ordeal, " says Tibau, 42, of

Newport Beach, Calif. " I couldn't breathe, I couldn't walk, I couldn't

do anything. I was using my inhaler like every half hour. "

Other health problems followed.

Then last year a blood test showed she was highly reactive to mercury.

After doing some research, Tibau decided to have the fillings in her

teeth -- all 13 of them -- removed, believing the mercury in them had

made her ill.

Over the next several months her breathing " improved dramatically, "

she says. Now more than a year later, she no longer uses any

asthma medications and reports an improvement in her energy level

and attention span.

Tibau, who became an activist against dental mercury following her

experience, is just one of a growing number of consumers,

scientists, and others who are warning the public about what they

believe is a serious health hazard.

What's Really in Your Mouth?

According to the American Dental Association, or ADA, up to 76%

of dentists use silver fillings when filling a cavity. Although the

substance that makes up silver fillings, known as dental amalgam,

has been used safely for 150 years, the ADA says, some

research has suggested the fillings may cause health problems that

range from chronic fatigue-like symptoms to neurological

problems, including Alzheimer's disease.

So-called 'silver fillings' are a mixture of silver and other

metals dissolved with mercury. There are numerous alternatives to

silver fillings, including tooth-colored resin, porcelain, and gold

fillings -- all of which are considerably more expensive. Some

dentists say colleagues who encourage patients to have silver

fillings removed and replaced with the more expensive fillings are

simply out to make money off the controversy.

The ADA insists once the filling is placed in the tooth, exposure

to mercury is minimal, and that numerous studies have failed to find

a link between silver fillings and any medical disorder. They do

acknowledge, however, that a small subset of people -- fewer than

100 reported cases -- have an allergy to the metal component in the

fillings and will have a reaction.

But the ant-mercury camp says the ADA has no proof to back up their

claims that mercury is harmless. They also point to the fact

that amalgam has never even been tested for safety by the FDA,

having been instead ''grandfathered " in because it had been in use

for so many years and was assumed to be safe.

Controversy Goes to Court

In June, a group called Consumers for Dental Choice sued the ADA and

the California Dental Association, saying the organizations

have deceived consumers by using the term " silver fillings " to

avoid acknowledging that about half of the filling is mercury.

" Their brochures and patient material all call it 'silver' and

that's misleading, " says the groups' attorney, G. Brown of

Washington.

" Inside the brochures they start talking about mercury and when they

do, they compare it to pollen and dust, " he says. " They're

calling [mercury] something it's not, and they're hiding the fact

that they have an economic interest in amalgam. "

In a prepared statement given to WebMD, the ADA says the complaint

is " without merit " because the organization has never tried to

hide the fact that silver fillings contain mercury. The organization

also maintains that when the mercury combines with other

components of the fillings it becomes an inactive substance.

But scientists like Boyd E. Haley, professor and chairman of the

department of chemistry at the University of Kentucky, say there is

no proof that this is true.

" They place this stuff in people's mouths and it's toxic before

it goes in, and it's toxic when it is placed in your tooth, so how

does it suddenly become safe? " says Haley, who has testified before

Congress on the dangers of dental mercury.

The only way to limit the amount of mercury released from your teeth

if you have silver fillings is not to use them, says Haley. Just

brushing lightly with a toothbrush is enough to register a reading

on a mercury vapor detector, he says.

Does Lawsuit Prey on Fears?

The ADA says one potential danger of the lawsuit is that it

" may prey on the fears of people who have serious medical conditions

by leading them to believe that costly dental treatment not based on

proven scientific evidence is a cure for such conditions. " In other

words, the association fears unscrupulous dentists will convince

patients to have their fillings replaced with the more expensive

substances on the theory that their health will improve or that they

can prevent illnesses by avoiding mercury fillings.

" There have been a number of studies looking at the potential effects

of mercury from amalgam in the general population, and the

preponderance of evidence is that there is no relationship between

the presence of amalgam fillings and any disease condition, "

says ADA spokesperson J. Rodway Mackert, PhD.

" Therefore there's no reason for a patient to avoid placement of

amalgam fillings and there's no reason to have amalgam fillings

removed for the purpose of trying to alleviate any disease condition, "

says Mackert, a professor at the Medical College of Georgia, in

Augusta.

The Vapor Trail

Several dentists who use mercury fillings in their practices

acknowledged to WebMD that they know some mercury vapor does

escape from filled teeth during simple everyday activities such as

eating, drinking hot beverages, and brushing your teeth, but say

they don't usually talk to patients about it because they don't

believe the small amounts that escape are harmful.

A number of " mercury-free " dentists feel quite differently.

In a separate lawsuit, attorney Brown is representing five such

dentists who are suing the land state dental board, charging

that its gag rules keep dentists from being able to openly discuss

the mercury issue with patients.

One dentist involved in the suit says ADA claims that the mercury

in silver fillings doesn't cause health problems is " bogus. "

Bill DeLong, DDS, a dentist in Ellicott City, Md., tells WebMD

he has been brought before his state dental board twice for talking to

patients about the safety precautions he uses in his office --

including a mercury vapor detector -- when removing fillings.

" I had complaints ... about the fact that I discuss that with

patients, and in both instances they tried to either confiscate my

instruments or get me to not discuss anything with my patients

unless they bring it up first, " says DeLong, who uses no mercury

when filling patient's teeth.

Chemist Haley insists the ADA is selling " a big lie " to the American

public and the nation's dentists by continuing to claim the vapor

released by silver fillings is too small to be harmful.

He says studies show that people with silver fillings have an

average of four times the amount of mercury in their blood

and/or urine than people who have no fillings or nonsilver fillings.

" The ADA says the amount of mercury coming out of fillings is

insignificant, " says Haley. " But they have yet to publish one paper

showing the exact scientific amount that is released.

We're scientists -- we don't measure 'insignificant' or

'a little bit' when we do scientific studies. Where are their studies? "

The ADA contends it is a matter of public record that the mercury

in the filling material does not cause health problems and says

that opinion is shared by all major U.S. public health agencies.

Medically Reviewed By Dr. Dominique Walton

***************************************************************

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1756.53109

About the writer:

L.A. McKeown Medical Writer letterstowriter@...

L.A. McKeown is a freelance medical writer based in New Jersey

with over a decade of experience writing and editing on a variety of

health and medical topics.

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