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Dental Amalgam: Is It Safe?

"..there is no safe level of mercury, and no one has actually shown that there is a safe level…. I think they [the British Dental Association, B.D.A.] are wrong.. " (Dr Lars Friberg,.)

The safety of dental Amalgam ('silver' fillings) has recently been the subject of much controversy. This is because they contain (amongst other metals) mercury, the most toxic non-radioactive metal known to man. In fact, one cannot dispose of it in a waste basket without breaking environmental protection laws! Research has shown mercury to effect a range of body systems particularly the nervous system (including the brain), and immunological systems. Despite the weight of scientific evidence (over 4000 research papers world-wide) indicating the high toxicity of mercury, dental Amalgams are still widely used by the UK dental profession and are present in the mouths of an estimated 80-85% of the Western world.

What Are The Symptoms Of Mercury-Intoxication? (Extract From text by Leif Hedegard) The heavy, mostly occupational, chronic inorganic mercury intoxication has been described as having a triad of symptoms:

1) Tremor (or more wide: neurological symptoms)

2) Gingivitis / stomatitis (or more wide: local oral symptoms)

3) Erethismus (or more wide: psychiatric symptoms)

Tremor and gingivitis are not always present and usually not in milder forms. Tremor can cause alteration of the handwriting. The tremor is usually an intentional tremor. Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gingiva (gum).

The Erethismus (from Greek; excite) is a pathologically increased excitability. Erethism is usually the first symptom to develop. It goes along with some or many of the following symptoms; irritability, outbursts of temper, stress intolerance, decreased simultaneous capacity, increased sensitivity to sounds and light, resentment of criticism, loss of self-confidence, timidity, excessive shyness, embarrassment with insufficient reason, self-consciousness, anxiety, indecision, insomnia, vivid dreams, lack of concentration, memory loss, depression, fatigue... all these together can cause a complete change of personality.The memory loss could be disabling:"...memory loss such that young mothers would forget to retrieve children from baby-sitters on the way home from work... Non-verbal memory tested by facial recognition was no better than chance..." (Vroom 1972).

Other symptoms may include: headache, unsteady gait, numbness and pain in the extremities, muscular weakness, paraesthesias, drowsiness, slurring of words, slight stammering, difficulty in pronunciation of words, oedema, metallic taste, loosened teeth, increased salivation, loss of weight, hair loss, nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, other gastrointestinal disturbances, difficulty in breathing...(Buckell 1946, Elihu 1982, Mantyla 1976, McNerney 1979, Ronnback 1992, WHO 1991, Vroom 1972).Depending on what reports / journals / books you read, you may find even other symptoms described (for example visual disturbances and loss of motor control).

Symptoms Are Typically Non-Specific.: "...The symptoms of mercury poisoning from chronic inhalation develop gradually and thus may be difficult to notice. With the exception of tremor, the symptoms may be ignored by the victim or attributed to other causes..." (McNerney 1979).

"...it is impossible to distinguish early erethism from shyness or anxiety neurosis..." (Buckell 1946).

"... The effects of inorganic mercury on the nervous system are non-specific in that they can be induced by a wide range of mechanisms..." (NIH 1992) For full FAQ – see Web page: http://www.algonet.se/~leif/index.html

As well as being implicated in conditions such as Multiple Scloerosis and M.E., research has shown strong links between mercury levels and Alzheimer's disease, e.g.: i) Possible link between mercury levels and Alzheimer's disease. Wenstrup D; Ehmann WD; Markesbery WR, 1990 and Duhr EF, Pendergrass JC, Slevin JT, Haley BE:. FASEB Journal 1991.: ii) The Dental Amalgam Issue: A Review: Hanson M & Pleva, 1991.:Suggests amalgam mercury be investigated as a factor in neurological and immunological disease:. Info from Action Against Amalgam *

Some countries, like Sweden, Canada and Germany, have either banned or imposed serious limitations on Amalgam usage. There is now compelling evidence from reputable scientific bodies (such as the World Health Organisation) that, despite claims from pro-amalgam bodies such as the American and British Dental Associations (ADA/BDA), mercury is NOT "locked" safely in the metal bonds in the teeth, but can leak slowly into the body. Furthermore, there is even more disturbing evidence indicating that the mercury could precipitate certain serious illnesses for a significant percentage of people.

The amalgam controversy is receiving increasing attention from the media, dentistry and toxicological research as more and more patients are experiencing health problems which they identify as being associated with their fillings. As amalgam has been used so widely in dentistry over the years, a great majority of the population are at risk from the emerging health effects.

"It is my opinion that it is prudent to conclude that mercury from dental amalgam is not safe to use for everyone."

(Dr Lars Friberg, Former Chief Adviser to the World Health Organisation on Mercury safety. 1995 Symposium report.)

More recently, the Amalgam risk has at last been acknowledged by the UK government, with the issuing of official guidelines prohibiting implantation of Amalgam in pregnant women because of the potential risk to the unborn child.

Despite the evidence, the bans and prohibitions now in force, the traditionally conservative BDA (British Dental Association) are reluctant to acknowledge the full extent of the risk. It appears that, in Britain, it is down to the individual to seek out the information pertaining to the risks involved and to become aware of the recommended courses of action, rather than to rely on their dentist to do this for them. Although this is bad news for British people, the information is available and patient groups do exist. (see list below)

For those who are concerned or who think they might be affected, there are recommended methods of management of amalgam fillings and particular attention must be paid to the handling of such fillings. Most importantly, if you need work done on your amalgam fillings or you think that your health might be affected and you would like them to be removed, it is very important that it is done by a dentist that fully recognises the possible health implications and will take the recommended precautions when handling them. This includesd use of a coffer dam and masks etc.. Before going for treatment, it is worth seeking out a dentist that uses these procedures. Mercury Free dentist lists can be obtained online or from IAOMT (address below)

Very great concern must be expressed at the complete inadequacy of the mechanisms by which an issue such as this one is dealt with by official bodies. Even if the evidence were less compelling, it would be enough to at very least warrant larger scale impartial and serious research into the subject - but there is apparent lack of action. There appear to have been blatant instances of self-interest (ie. dentists concern of legal liability) being allowed to override public heath interest - a more open, honest and less corruptible system is needed.

By A. Millett and L.L Timbrell [BSc. (Hons.) Health & Community Studies]

Courtesy* Aciton Against Amalgam

INTERNET RESOURCES. Here are some EMAIL addresses to get more information on Amalgam related illness.

http://mars.execulink.com/~manager/fuartcl4.htm (Is Amalgam Safe?)

http://www.vimy-dentistry.com/ (Dr Vimys page)

http://www.all-natural.com/merceff1.html (Biological fx of Hg from Amalgams)

http://www.waterinfo.com/amalgam.HTM (Hg pollution from Dental Practice wastewater)

http://main.chem.ohiou.edu/~chem330/tox330_2.html (Good article oftoxins - inc. Amalgam/Mercury)

http://www.moreton.com.au/ana/handbook/amalgam.htm (Access n Able -Australian Health site)

http://www.isl.net/~hoffcomp/monjourn.html (Shirleys personal struggle with Alzheimers, possible Hg link?)

http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/markthomas/3380.html (Panoramadocumentary complete text)

http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/markthomas/3832.html (Tuebingen study)

http://netvoyage.net/~daveq/amalgam.htm (Amalgam and MS?)

http://www.web-maker.com/linkmat.html (Dental Injury hotline &info..)

http://www.talkinternational.com/am.html. (Canadians For Mercury Relief )

http://www.well-being.com/pensyl/mercury.htm (Jon Pensyl, DDS Silver/Mercury Dental Filling Advisory)

http://members.aol.com/pganzel/my.html (Link between ALS, Amalgam & diet..)

http://members.tripod.com/~KBS/index.html (Karen Snyder's story)

http://www.valleyadvocate.com/articles/dental2.html (Mark Andersons article)

http://www.oocities.org/ResearchTriangle/2888/ (Maz's mercury page)

http://spider.innercite.com/~tstout/ms/ (Tim Stouts ms page - bioflavonoids..)

http://www.amalgam.org/ (The Dental Amalgam Issue- Consumer Dental Choice Project)

http://www.aa.net/~aeion/mercury/links.html (The body & mercury, by Francene Lee)

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/pcsol/faq.htm (A short FAQ on ARI)

http://www.cascade-web.com (Mercury free dentist list)

http://www.listserv.gmd.de/htbin/wa.exe?S1=amalgam (Search engine for AMALGAM list)

You can subscribe to a mailing list called "AMALGAM" where questions about amalgam / mercury / health is discussed. To subscribe to the list send an e-mail to: LISTSERV@listserv.net with the following message in the first line of the body of the e-mail: SUB AMALGAM Myfirstname Mylastname

PATIENT ORGANISATIONS.

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