The Dangers of Mercury Dental Fillings
June 26th, 2007Although many dentist’s now refer to them as silver fillings, amalgam fillings, or simply metal fillings, the fillings that most Americans have in their back molars frequently have a mercury content of 50% or higher.
The other half of the filling material consists of mostly silver followed by small amounts of tin and copper. The American Dental Association’s position has stated that the alloy used in dental fillings is a biologically inactive substance. In several other countries, however, including Austria, Germany, Japan, Norway, and Sweden mercury fillings have either been severely restricted or outright ban.
The crux of the argument rests in a medical discovery published made in 1882 that mercury fillings release a small, but constant amount of mercury vapor. The ADA says that the vapor is harmless; so all suggestions for long term studies of the health effects of mercury fillings have currently been abandoned. The side effects of mercury poisoning include brain damage, autism, liver damage, and birth defects when women are exposed to the chemical during pregnancy.
Most dental patients have never been informed that the first serious dental organization to be founded in the United States was the now disbanded, American Society of Dental Surgeons. All dentists applying for admission into this elite society were required to sign a mandatory pledge to avoid the use of mercury fillings because of the dangers of mercury poisoning. Dentists who broke their pledge were disbanded from the society. Unfortunately for the ASDS, mercury fillings were cheap and easy to install. The mercury filling users soon founded their own professional dentist’s club. Capitalism prevailed and the ASDS was forced to disband in 1856 due to loss of membership. The mercury filling enthusiasts’ society still exists in its modern incarnation, the American Dental Association.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:48 pm
I don’t think these amalgam fillings are as dangerous as you suppose. You talk about the dangers of mercury *poisoning*, which no one disputes and which has not been shown a consequence of amalgam (as if they were 100% mercury) fillings. The mixture of metals in these fillings chemically binds the mercury making it stable. They’ve been shown safe and effective for years and years. Anti-amalgam feelings seem to be a knee-jerk reaction to the word “mercury,” as though dentists using metal fillings practically fed mercury to their patients in a baby bottle. Amalgam filling’s lower cost is a benefit, not only for dentists, but for patients. People are willing to pay more for composites primarily for their tooth-colored finish. And that is all well and good. But perhaps medical knowledge was more comprehensive in 1882 than it is now, and perhaps only the rich should receive fillings at all.