WARNING!
This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.
By Dr. Mercola
On March 28, the Dr. Oz Show featured a segment titled “Are Your Silver Fillings Making You Sick?” The program explained the toxic health problems linked to mercury fillings, and even measured the mercury released from the fillings when brushing the teeth of a model mouth.
The segment is evidence that the momentum toward mercury-free dentistry is gaining speed, as the facts about their risks are becoming more widely accepted even by mainstream media sensations like Dr. Oz.
Yet despite the evidence, the American Dental Association (ADA) has remained a staunch advocate for dental amalgams, refusing to acknowledge any inherent problems and risks associated with dental mercury.
And now, they’re even severing ties with those who dare to speak out against this scientifically proven threat, namely, Dr. Oz.
ADA Severs Its Affiliation with Dr. Oz’s Website
The same day the Dr. Oz segment aired, the ADA released a statement making it clear they objected to the program and its message. Weeks later, they announced they had ended their affiliation with Sharecare, a consumer website co-founded by Dr. Oz. Reportedly:
“The decision was made after a March 28 episode of 'The Dr. Oz Show' provided misleading information on dental amalgam.”1
According to an ADA news release, the segment “erroneously” portrays dental amalgam as a health risk, “when in fact not one credible scientific study supports this position.”
However, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health recently concluded that mercury alternatives are less hazardous to both public health and the environment, when comparing mercury-based dental fillings with alternatives like resin composites and glass ionomer fillings.2
They reported:
"Based on current evidence, the ultimate goal of a phase-out of virtually all usage of dental mercury is recommended.”
The 47 nations of the Council of Europe also passed a resolution calling on the nations to start "restricting or prohibiting the use of amalgams as dental fillings," explaining that "amalgams are the prime source of exposure to mercury for developed countries, also affecting embryos, fetuses (through the placenta) and children (through breastfeeding)."
What’s the Problem With Mercury Fillings?
Though the ADA won’t admit that mercury, a biological poison at any dose, is not the best material to be implanting in your body, other health organizations are facing the facts. The World Health Organization (WHO), for example, also released its final report on dental amalgam,3 and also took a stance against the use of mercury in dentistry, urging "a switch in use of dental materials away from amalgam." The report even included mention of the known toxic effects of mercury exposure, stating:
"Mercury is highly toxic and harmful to health. Approximately 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is absorbed in the blood through the lungs, causing damages to lungs, kidneys and the nervous, digestive, respiratory and immune systems. Health effects from excessive mercury exposure include tremors, impaired vision and hearing, paralysis, insomnia, emotional instability, developmental deficits during fetal development, and attention deficit and developmental delays during childhood."
The problems with mercury fillings are two-fold. First, virtually any kind of stimulation can cause these fillings to release mercury -- eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, grinding your teeth, chewing gum, anything. If you want to see the vapors released for yourself, watch the shocking video below, which is similar to the demonstration shown on the Dr. Oz show.
Mercury vapor from the amalgams passes readily through cell membranes, across the blood-brain barrier, and into your central nervous system, where it causes immunological, neurological, and even psychological problems. Children and fetuses, whose brains are still developing, are most at risk, but really anyone can be impacted.
When Is the ADA Going to Face the Facts?
As the world rallies around the obvious necessity of replacing mercury-based products with non-toxic alternatives, the ADA continues to shill for mercury fillings -- heedless of dentist-members who have rejected amalgam and aware that taxpayers must pay the price for the pollution caused by pro-mercury dentists. Perhaps their staunch opposition, even as facts are now impossible to deny, has to do with their massive conflicts of interests. The ADA is a former patent-holder of amalgam, and has helped draft woefully misled policy statements affirming that dental amalgam is "safe" and its contribution to environmental mercury contamination "minimal."
The ADA has also historically covered up the fact that the term "silver filling" is profoundly deceptive, as the composite material contains anywhere from 49 to 54 percent mercury, thus should be called mercury fillings not the euphemistic and deceptive term silver filling. At one time they even declared that removing mercury fillings is unethical and many dentists lost their licenses for removing them.
ADA Yanked Dental Licenses from Truthful Dentists!
What is clear is that the ADA is not going to go down without a fight, and to them that means attacking anyone who dares to speak the truth about amalgam dangers. Dr. Oz is only the latest “victim.” Already, the ADA aided and abetted dental boards to yank licenses from dentists who truthfully told patients that amalgam is mainly mercury and who advised against its use. This was despite the known fact that dental amalgam emits mercury vapor after it is implanted in your mouth, and this mercury bioaccumulates in the tissues of your body, endangering your health in too many ways to count.
The ADA will undoubtedly continue its crusade to keep dental amalgam – a primitive polluting product -- in the forefront of 21st century dentistry, even though amalgam fillings contain more mercury than any other product sold in the United States and safer alternatives, such as resin composite, are readily available.
Dr. Oz Had Integrity to Speak the Truth: Now it’s Your Turn!
Dr. Oz helped expose the truth about mercury fillings, proving he would not be beholden to industry-friendly bullies like the ADA—now it’s your turn! It's high time for the US Food and Drug Administration to stand up and start acting on the science and get on the bandwagon to protect the health of children and pregnant women across the US. Your voice is needed in order to bring about permanent change in the fight for mercury-free dentistry.
The FDA reneged on their stated intent to address dental amalgam by the end of 2011. We now need you to urge the FDA to heed the advice of its own scientists, convened in December 2010. To voice your opinion, please contact Dr. Jeff Shuren, Director of the Center for Devices & Radiological Health (the branch of the FDA responsible for the approval and safety of all medical devices). This time, we think it best if you telephone or fax him, and make your message more direct, rather than emailing.
- EMAIL FDA Director Shuren at [email protected] or
- CALL him at 301-796-5900 or
- FAX him at 301-847-8510 or
- MAIL a letter to Director Jeff Shuren, CDRH, Building WO66, Room 5442, U.S. Food and Drug Admin., 10903 New Hampshire Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20993
Phone calls and faxes are especially important because Dr. Shuren cannot ignore them – keep calling and leaving messages until you get answers! Ask Dr. Shuren:
- The FDA panel on dental amalgam that met in 2010 recommended against using dental amalgam in young children and pregnant women. What are you doing to protect young children and pregnant women from dental amalgam?
- Other nations like Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark have taken steps to protect children and pregnant women from dental amalgam. Why is the U.S. so far behind other nations?
- You said FDA would make an announcement on dental amalgam by December 31, 2011. We have waited patiently for more than 450 days, but it is now 2013. When is FDA going to start protecting our children from dental mercury?
More than a year of FDA silence is enough. With your help, we can show our government and the ADA that the public will not rest until FDA is at least protecting our children from dental mercury.