Unfortunately, it seems as though the hard-nosed position that organized dentistry in the USA, led by the American Dental Association (ADA), has taken on the safety of mercury dental fillings, has placed itself into an unenviable position of being the lone voice, surrounded by a world that has greatly curtailed the usage of this known human and environmental poison. It has painted into a corner out of which it gets more and more difficult to leave with its’ dignity in tact.
An alarming AP report on June 25, 2010, stated that “ Sperm Whales feeding in even the most remote reaches of Earth’s oceans have built up shockingly high levels of toxic and heavy metals, according to American scientists who say the findings spell danger not only for marine life but for the millions of humans who depend on seafood.
High levels of cadmium, aluminum, chromium, lead, titanium and the two major ingredients of Dental Amalgam fillings silver and mercury were found in tissue samples taken by dart gun from nearly 1,000 whales over five years. From polar areas to equatorial waters, the whales ingested pollutants that may have been produced by humans thousands of miles away, the researchers said.
“These contaminants, I think, are threatening the human food supply. They certainly are threatening the whales and the other animals that live in the ocean,” said biologist Roger Payne, founder and president of Ocean Alliance, the research and conservation group that produced the report.
The researchers found mercury levels as high as 16 parts per million in the whales. Fish high in mercury such as shark and swordfish — the types health experts warn children and pregnant women to avoid — typically have levels of about 1 part per million.
The whales studied averaged 2.4 parts of mercury per million, but the report’s authors said their internal organs probably had much higher levels than the skin samples.
“The entire ocean life is just loaded with a series of contaminants, most of which have been released by human beings,” Payne said in an interview at the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting.
Payne said sperm whales, which occupy the top of the food chain, absorb the contaminants and pass them on to the next generation when a female nurses her calf. “What she’s actually doing is dumping her lifetime accumulation of that fat-soluble stuff into her baby,” he said, and each generation passes on more to the next.
Ultimately, he said, the contaminants could jeopardize seafood, a primary source of animal protein for 1 billion people.
“You could make a fairly tight argument to say that it is the single greatest health threat that has ever faced the human species. I suspect this will shorten lives, if it turns out that this is what’s going on,” he said.
The ongoing struggle to remove the mercury amalgam fillings from dental materials and from our environment rages on. Despite a plethora of research pointing to the toxicity of mercury amalgam fillings and a worldwide interest in boycotting top dental amalgam seller Henry Schein Inc. (Consumers from every state in the USA and twenty-four countries so far have voiced their support for the boycott, endorsing a letter to Schein’s CEO), in 2009 the FDA issued a ruling in support of the safety of mercury amalgam fillings. As a result, the Consumers for Dental Choice led by Charlie Brown, took the issue to the international level. They joined with consumer organizations from around the world, founded the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry and took their message to the United Nations mercury treaty negotiations held in early June, 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The following is a letter to Charlie Brown from The World Alliance of Mercury-Free Dentistry.
“We had our first opportunity to address a hundred nations at once about our cause during our opening speech to the governmental delegates. Our highly talented and energetic international team of advocates and mercury-free dentists from seven nations ran an information booth, distributed literature, gave presentations, networked with like-minded organizations, educated delegates, and convinced the world that it must find a solution to the dental mercury problem:
— The United Nations Environmental Programme officials observed that dental amalgam drew more interest than any other single issue during the session. As a result, substantial attention will be devoted to dental mercury between now and the next session in January.
— The Scandinavian nations pointedly asked the world’s nations to join them in phasing out amalgam.
— Leaders from four developing nations asked us to assist them in organizing pilot programs for phasing out amalgam, a critical step according to the UN.
— Diplomats from the U.S. State Department and top officials from the U.S. EPA were engaged in our message and requesting more information.
— The leaders of the World Health Organization shifted from defending amalgam use to outlining the steps it endorses to reduce its use.
I can’t say enough about the team we assembled in Stockholm. We were tutored by Elisabet Carlsson, the advocate whose work led to the Swedish ban on amalgam. Dentist Graeme Munro-Hall of Great Britain, co-author with his wife Lilian of ToxicDentistry Exposed, eloquently explained the science supporting mercury-free dentistry. We joined forces with the dedicated leaders of our movement in other major countries, such as Servando Pérez-Dominguez of Spain, Marie Grosman of France, and Angela Kilmartin of Great Britain. The multi-lingual talents of Anita Vazquez Tibau ofCalifornia and Kathy Huddlestone of France allowed us to reach out to even more delegates. And so many other outstanding folks stepped in to help out.
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showed up at the Stockholm session to protect mercury fillings, our international team was right there to expose the flaws in the agency’s amalgam defense. Back in the United States, FDA was already facing a grassroots outcry from the American people and three separate petitions filed by Jim Turner, by Bob Reeves and Jim Love, and by emeritus University of Virginia professor Dr. Richard Edlich. With the Scandinavians announcing that “dental treatment without mercury is becoming the norm” and other health departments at least putting limits on amalgam use, FDA realized that it is the pariah on the dental mercury issue (countries such as Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands have phased out amalgam; Germany and Canada direct dentists not to use it in vulnerable populations; Japan uses it in less than 4% of fillings; etc.). In an attempt to save face the day before the negotiating session ended, FDA announced that it will hold hearings in December before the next UN session to consider whether American children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable populations should be protected from dental mercury exposure.
We could not have come this far without all our grassroots activists and supporters, both national and now international. In the words of FDA Webview, your efforts have been “unprecedented”: “No final rule in FDA’s modern history, or perhaps ever, has attracted this kind of organized opposition.” Thanks to all of you, our movement has made FDA realize that the mercury fillings issue is not going away.”
The ADA’s first response to the impending FDA dental advisory board meeting can be found in the lead article of the June 21, 2010 issue (Volume 41 No.12) of the ADA News titled FDA plans New Review of Dental Amalgam. In the article, it states that ”although the FDA had concluded that dental amalgam was a safe and effective restorative treatment and issued a final rule in 2009 that the ADA (American Dental Association) supported, then reclassified dental mercury and amalgam components for regulatory purposes, it will convene a dental advisory panel Dec. 14-15 to review “scientific issues that may affect the regulation of dental amalgam.”
The following is from the FDA’s website.
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced plans to hold an advisory panel on Dec. 14-15, 2010, to discuss several scientific issues that may affect the regulation of dental amalgam, used for direct filling of carious lesions or structural defects in teeth. The panel meeting will focus particularly on the potential risk to vulnerable populations, such as pregnant women, fetuses, and young children.
Used to treat tooth decay, dental amalgam is a mixture of metals, composed of liquid mercury and a powdered amalgam alloy, composed primarily of silver, tin, and copper.
On July 28, 2009, the FDA issued a final rule that reclassified dental mercury from a class I device to class II, classified dental amalgam as a class II device, and designated special controls for dental amalgam, mercury and amalgam alloy. The special control for the devices is a guidance titled, “Class II Special Controls Guidance Document: Dental Amalgam, Mercury and Amalgam Alloy.”
Since that time, the agency has received several petitions raising various issues relating to the final rule and special controls.
The concerns raised include the adequacy of the risk assessment method used by the FDA in classifying dental amalgam, the bioaccumulative effect of mercury, the exposure of pediatric populations to mercury vapor, and the adequacy of the clinical studies on dental amalgam. In addition, a recent report on risk assessments issued by the National Academy of Sciences, titled “Science and Decisions: Advancing Risk Assessment, NAP 2009,” proposes new approaches to conducting risk assessments. These may be some of the issues the agency asks the advisory committee to review.”
It is important to note that the dental products panel of FDA’s medical devices advisory panel can only advise the FDA and can not overrule the FDA’s 2009 decision. It is however the first step to the possible overruling of the FDA’s decision and a re-classification to reflect the true nature of dental mercury amalgams toxicity and risk. As it has done time and time again, on many health issues related to dentistry, including the drive to recommend amalgam separators in every dental office, my hope is that the ADA would finally have the guts to reverse its position and regain its’ place as the leader of my esteemed profession.