Health officials kill FDA proposal to curb mercury dental fillings

[seafan]

Source: Tampa Bay Times

WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. health officials have squelched a Food and Drug Administration proposal that for the first time would have curbed dentists' use of mercury — one of the planet's nastiest toxins because it attacks the central nervous system — in treating Americans' decayed teeth.

The proposal, approved by top FDA officials in late 2011 and kept secret since, would have told dentists they should not use mercury fillings in cavities in pregnant women, nursing moms, children under 6 and people with mercury allergies, kidney diseases or neurological problems.

It also urged dentists to avoid using fillings that contain mercury compounds in any patient, where possible.

The proposal and its secret rejection, after a cost-benefit analysis by officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, have put the Obama administration in the awkward position of concealing for more than three years a safety communication potentially affecting millions of Americans.

The FDA has defended the safety of mercury fillings since the agency's inception in 1930 and especially during an ongoing, 23-year legal battle with consumer groups. Consumer lawyers are pressing the government to ban the compounds, as Denmark, Norway and Sweden have done.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/health-officials-kill-fda-proposal-to-curb-mercury-dental-fillings/2238243

[kristopher]

1. Around 1990 they yanked mine out in Japan and replaced them with paladium

They were shocked we were still using it. But as I understand it, the argument for it here is money. It costs about $2 for an amalgam filling and about $30 for the cheapest alternative composite. The claim is made that if you force a move to the more expensive alternative, then the poor won't be able to afford dental care.

I say that is BS - I think they just pocket the difference. If the poor and low income are the issue (and they should be) then dental insurance should be part of a national single payer system. Then the poor would be able to get proper dental care. It is something every human deserves.

[Helen Borg]

5. Amalgam is way more durable than any resin...

And the health effects are controversial I think. Dentists would love to have less durable fillings, obviously...

[kristopher]

6. I don't think so...

The Barcol hardness of most of today's dental composites is easily able to match that of dental enamel. There is no controversy about the health effects of composites.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcol_hardness_test

[Helen Borg]

12. I guess it depends on who you ask...

"Fillings have a finite lifespan: an average of 12.8 years for amalgam and 7.8 years for composite resins."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_material

[Orrex]

13. Nor is there any real controversy about the safety of dental amalgam

But if the fear campaign helps snakeoil peddlars finance their vacation homes, who am I to argue?

[kristopher]

16. You are wrong, oh great WooHunter

What is lacking is proof that it is safe. In the event a product like this is not Proven Safe, it is standard practice in "science" to apply the Precautionary Principle and refrain from using it until such proof is provided.

Of course, there are thousands of compounds introduced every year that do not meet this standard, and in the case of mercury amalgam it was grandfathered into modern medicine; however neither of those points should be relevant to the Professional WooHunter.

It is well known (and uncontested) that the mercury in dental amalgams escapes and vaporizes all the time, every day. These researchers state it plainly:

"elemental mercury evaporates from liquid metallic mercury continuously from [the] dental amalgam. Thus, biodegradation of mercury amalgam, as the authors state, is an unnecessary condition because amalgam is intrinsically instable. In unstimulated condition, a single dental amalgam in a tooth is able to generate a level of mercury vapor measurable by atomic absorption spectroscopy."[3]

When fillings are agitated even by simple chewing, the rate of vaporization soars.[3,4]

In fact, people who chew gum (especially nicotine gum) are at much greater risk of mercury poisoning if they have dental amalgams. One study declared that within the group of regular chewers, "significant correlations were found between P-Hg or U-Hg [mercury levels in blood and urine] on the one hand and the number of amalgam surfaces on the other"[4]

Even Quackwatch.com admits that chewing vigorously for ten minutes: "may generate tiny amounts of mercury from the fillings." They go on, however, to assure us that: "Although this exposure lasts for just a few seconds and most of the mercury will be exhaled rather than absorbed by the body..."[1]

This is not true, and another example of how poorly informed the most avid supporters can be, despite their pompously indignant and condescending attitude. It is in fact well-known among researchers that due to the low vapor pressure and lipophilic property of elemental mercury, "some 80% of inhaled mercury vapour is retained."[5]...

http://www.pregnantdentist.org/Chemistry.html

I used to sell the stuff (dental products) for a bit over a year. You can trust me when I say that the product is controversial even among the product development labs of dental supply companies.

[Orrex]

20. Sure. And Jenny McCarthy is a neuropathologist.

I used to sell the stuff (dental products) for a bit over a year. You can trust me when I say that the product is controversial even among the product development labs of dental supply companies.

You can trust me when I say that you've given me no reason to trust you. Your blurb from pregnantdentist.org is dubious and exactly mirrors the chicken-little claims of NaturalNews and other bullshit woo-sites.

My current dentist has amalgam fillings. So did my dentist before him and the one before that.

How devoted to the cult of mercury must these medical professionals be if they're willing to sacrifice their own health--and the health of their families--for the sake of the evil mercury cartel?

You can trust me when I say that you're mistaken.

[kristopher]

27. Now that is exactly the kind of stellar research we've come to expect of the WH clan...

Heaven forbid you should check the references for the article or actually internalize the arguments being made.

I chose that because from my conversations with researchers I recognized the validity of the arguments being made; i appreciated the clarity of the explanations; and finally because it specifically addressed the BS your compadre was putting out.

Perhaps you'd like to peruse a few of the references.

1. Quackwatch.com

2. Lorscheider FL, Vimy MJ, Summers AO. Mercury exposure from "silver" tooth fillings: emerging evidence questions a traditional dental paradigm. FASEB J. 1995 Nov;9(14):1499-500. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19593333

3. Pigatto PD, Guzzi G. Oral lichenoid lesions: more than mercury. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2005 Oct;100(4):398-400. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16182158

4. Sällsten G, Thorén J, Barregård L, Schütz A, Skarping G. Long-term use of nicotine chewing gum and mercury exposure from dental amalgam fillings. J Dent Res. 1996 Jan;75(1):594-8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8655765

5. Gelbier S, Ingram J. Public Health. Possible foetotoxic effects of mercury vapour: a case report. 1989 Jan;103(1):35-40. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2727233

6. Mutter J, Naumann J, Guethlin C. Comments on the article "the toxicology of mercury and its chemical compounds" by Clarkson and Magos (2006). Crit Rev Toxicol. 2007;37(6):537-49; discussion 551-2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17661216

7. Clarkson TW. The three modern faces of mercury Environ Health Perspect. 2002 Feb;110 Suppl 1:11-23. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11834460

8. Shenker BJ, Guo TL, Shapiro IM. Low-level methylmercury exposure causes human T-cells to undergo apoptosis: evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction. Environ Res. 1998 May;77(2):149-59. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9600808

9. FDA website on the dental amalgam

10. EPA whitepaper on the environmental threat of the dental amalgam

11. Pigatto PD, Minoia C, Ronchi A, Guzzi G. Mercury in saliva and scalp hair from dental amalgam. J Hazard Mater. 2010 Jul 15;179(1-3):1166-7. Epub 2010 Mar 31. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20403663

12. Heintze U, Edwardsson S, Dérand T, Birkhed D. Methylation of mercury from dental amalgam and mercuric chloride by oral streptococci in vitro. Scand J Dent Res. 1983 Apr;91(2):150-2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6222462

13. Leistevuo J, Leistevuo T, Helenius H, Pyy L, Osterblad M, Huovinen P, Tenovuo J. Dental amalgam fillings and the amount of organic mercury in human saliva. Caries Res. 2001 May-Jun;35(3):163-6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11385194

14. Moszczynski P Jr, Moszczynski P. Czas Stomatol. Health damage due to exposure to mercury vapour (Hg). 1989 Apr;42(4):233-8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2487844

15. Pigatto PD, Guzzi G. Linking mercury amalgam to autoimmunity. Trends Immunol. 2010 Feb;31(2):48-9. Epub 2010 Jan 18. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20080446


I picked #13 at random and clicked the pubmed link:

Dental amalgam fillings and the amount of organic mercury in human saliva.
Leistevuo J1, Leistevuo T, Helenius H, Pyy L, Osterblad M, Huovinen P, Tenovuo J.
Author information

Abstract
We studied differences in the amounts of organic and inorganic mercury in saliva samples between amalgam and nonamalgam human study groups. The amount of organic and inorganic mercury in whole saliva was measured in 187 adult study subjects. The mercury contents were determined by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The amount of organic and inorganic mercury in paraffin-stimulated saliva was significantly higher (p<0.001) in subjects with dental amalgam fillings (n = 88) compared to the nonamalgam study groups (n = 43 and n = 56): log(e) (organic mercury) was linearly related to log(e) (inorganic mercury, r(2) = 0.52). Spearman correlation coefficients of inorganic and organic mercury concentrations with the number of amalgam-filled tooth surfaces were 0.46 and 0.27, respectively. Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that amalgam fillings may be a continuous source of organic mercury, which is more toxic than inorganic mercury, and almost completely absorbed by the human intestine.

But I'm sure your anecdote would be well received at any of the journals listed. You should write it up and submit it.

[Orrex]

29. You're doing the Gish-gallop

Last edited Wed Jul 22, 2015, 07:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Which means that your posts don't deserve a response. Instead of posting an argument or citing relevant points, you copy-and-paste pointlessly lengthy passages that no one is going to read and which I'm almost certain you haven't read either, despite your imminent assurance that you've done so, of course.

Tell me about this citation:

14. Moszczynski P Jr, Moszczynski P. Czas Stomatol. Health damage due to exposure to mercury vapour (Hg). 1989 Apr;42(4):233-8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2487844

Does that paper demonstrate that mercury vapor is released from dental amalgam in sufficient quantities and concentrations to cause the health damage as described? Or are they talking about general, atmospheric mercury vapor that you are then imaginatively applying to your more-or-less imaginary phenomenon of vaporized mercury from dental fillings? Please be extensive and detailed in your analysis; if you simply cite a passage from the paper without providing context or commentary, then I will have to conclude that you don't know what you're talking about, notwithstanding your claims to have sold lots of tooth-stuff in your mysterious past.

I also rather suspect that you're cutting-and-pasting wholesale from other "NaturalNews" style sites, meaning that you can't even be bothered to find good research.

You deserve no further reply because your posts are a regurgitation of other crap long debunked. Come up with something new, relevant and interesting, and maybe you'll merit another response.


Your posts are verbal diarrhea that you offer up in place of argument, all while scolding the dreaded woo-hunters.

That's an ugly term of your own creation, by the way; I do not use the term "woo," so I'm under no obligation to defend against your complaints related to it. What exactly is "woo" in your estimation?

[kristopher]

31. I have no idea what Natural News is...

That is the list of references for the passages I posted. If you consider referring a critic of a paper to the reference cited in that paper to be "Gish Gallop" then your sense of what constitutes discussion of "science" is even more impaired than the already abysmal state it seemed.

I mean WOW. Intimidated by a list of (very legitimate) references for a short internet paper that you obviously didn't read?

PS. Ref 14 Moszczynski etal is not presented in isolation so the question you posed is not intended as any sort of meaningful comment on the paper written by 'pregnantdentist'. I'll take that as another shining example of your twisted idea of what the search for truth in science means.

Yep, you're a world class woo hunter. Actually, no you aren't. Your approach is typical of what plagues the internet as a medium for learning and teaching.

[Orrex]

33. In other words, you do in fact have nothing to offer.

Natural News, as I'm sure you're aware, is a bullshit website dedicated to dispensing lies and misinformation about science and the pursuit of science. Everything you've posted is exactly in line with their schtick, so you deserve no new rebuttal--you're simply using the same tired and thoroughly debunked nonsense that they've used for years.

If you consider referring a critic of a paper to the reference cited in that paper to be "Gish Gallop" then your sense of what constitutes discussion of "science" is even more impaired than the already abysmal state it seemed.

Before you stick your foot any further down your throat, you should find out what the Gish Gallop is.

Your entire strategy has been to start with insults and then smother with an avalanche of bullshit--typical of the Gish Galloping pseudoscientist. You're in no position to criticize anyone's grasp of science--or of anything else, for that matter.

I mean WOW. Intimidated by a list

Nope, that's a desperate lie. Did you read all of those linked articles from start to finish? If you answer yes, then I don't believe you, and if you answer no, then you have no business citing them.

[kristopher]

34. You really do live inside a world of fantasy, don't you?

I don't know anything about "Natural News".

I do understand what "Gish Gallop" refers to.

You've completely twisted those two simple facts into a transparent and clumsy diversion - trying to get away from the clear summary on the topic and its list of excellent supporting references. The accusation of flooding the thread with solid reference material is a well used ploy to try to make someone stop proving you wrong.

You've already shown you have a poor high school student's grasp of how to learn and now you clinch that with the assertion that unless one reads every reference cited in a piece of research, then it isn't appropriate to share that bibliography as a means of demonstrating research that is a couple of steps above that of your average blogger.

Poor feller, you just ain't got a clue, but you can still learn if you want.

History of the controversy
http://www.pregnantdentist.org/Controversy.html

The chemistry involved
http://www.pregnantdentist.org/Chemistry.html (this is the one I took the earlier excerpts and reference list from)

The effects of mercury in its various forms on the body
http://www.pregnantdentist.org/Effects.html

What are the risks to health
http://www.pregnantdentist.org/Risks.html

What is the impact on dentistry
http://www.pregnantdentist.org/Future.html

All well researched with excellent peer reviewed sources.

Enjoy.

[TexasBushwhacker]

32. The newer composites are much stronger than enamel

Also, you have to keep in mind that hundreds if not thousands of drugs, food additives and medical substances like amalgam fillings were never tested when the FDA started because they had already been used for many years. They put them on the GRAS list - Generally Recognized As Safe. With all it's possible ill effects, if aspirin were discovered today it would be a prescription drug.

[kristopher]

35. Very true.

But the research does keep rolling in, doesn't it? Sometimes it shows new and exciting ways that older products can help us, an other times (as in this case) the research breaks through tradition and economics to reveal problems that have been under appreciated.

[TexasBushwhacker]

37. They're using Thalidomide to treat leprosy & cancer! n/t

[progressoid]

18. Palladium? Uh Oh. Could be carcinogenic.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8736443

[kristopher]

19. Is that what your source says?

I don't think so.

Abstract
In dentistry, palladium is a very common component of dental casting alloys of all types, and its use has increased over the past several decades in response to the increased cost of gold. However, there have been recent controversies, particularly in Germany, over possible adverse biological effects of using palladium in dental alloys. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to review the known biological effects of palladium and the likelihood that these effects can be caused by dental alloys which contain palladium. In an ionic form and at sufficiently high concentrations, palladium has toxic and allergic effects on biological systems. Palladium allergy almost always occurs in individuals who are sensitive to nickel. The carcinogenic potential of the palladium ion is still unclear, although there is some evidence that it is capable of acting as a mutagen. However, there are no well documented cases of adverse biological reactions to palladium in the metallic state. Furthermore, in spite of the potential adverse biological effects of palladium ions, the risk of using palladium in dental casting alloys appears to be extremely low because of the low dissolution rate of palladium ions from these alloys.

But thank you for sharing that. It's good to know.

[progressoid]

21. "there are no well documented cases of adverse biological reactions to..."

What if it said "there are no well documented cases of adverse biological reactions to the consumption of genetically modified plants" Which happens to be the case. There are no well documented cases of adverse biological reactions to consumption of GMOs. And yet many Americas are worried about GMOs.

I think we should apply that same level of fear to palladium regardless of what the studies say.

[kristopher]

23. Please, stop. Given the highlighted portion in my quote...

...the analogy you are trying to draw is as bad as, if not worse than, the one with water below.
The desperate search for relevance from the woohunters is becoming unbearable. Seriously, y'all make at least as many reasoning and factual errors as those you pester,

[Orrex]

25. It's true!

[ananda]

2. I had mine replaced some years ago.

And then I had the chelation therapy.

I generally avoid seafood as well.

[demigoddess]

24. had mine replaced years ago with the white composite

my dentist has been surprised how well and how long they have lasted. I have had far fewer crowns than she estimated back then, 5 vs 15 or more estimated. My teeth are actually stronger than with mercury fillings and I may have had dentures by now if I had kept mercury fillings. Now I still have my own teeth and they are better than they were 20 years ago.

[Orrex]

3. I refuse to drive anywhere in a Mercury

And I won't go outside at night while Mercury is above the horizon.


Can't be too safe from evil, evil mercury.

[Archae]

8. You said it...

Just look at this evil creature!

[Orrex]

11. Terrific. Now I have to chelate my monitor.

Thanks a lot, you terrorist.

[progressoid]

22. It's time to get rid of Mercury.

“

The devastating health effects of Mercury are widely known, from autism-causing vaccines to causing all kinds of cancers from tooth fillings” explained mommy blogger Kate Hermian. “It’s time for this madness to end. It’s time for them to remove Mercury once and for all.”

The sentiment echoes past anti-vaccine arguments surrounding the use of thimerosal in vaccines. Thimerosal was removed from all childhood vaccines by 2001, even though a large study and risk assessment of thimerosal use in childhood vaccines published in Pediatrics “found no evidence of harm from the use of thimerosal as a preservative, other than redness and swelling at the injection site.”

“We know what the so-called “experts” and “science” says about mercury in vaccines and it’s link to autism. We choose not to believe it” said Hermian. “And another thing, why has the universe or NASA never done a solar-system-with-Mercury vs solar-system-without-Mercury study? What are they so afraid of?”
...
http://thespudd.com/anti-vaccers-petition-to-have-mercury-removed-from-solar-system/

[Charles de Gaudless]

4. I've got one of those

I don't like it, but it's there. Hey, maybe it won't lead to neurological damage.

[pnwmom]

36. Older people often have had MANY of those.

They should have stopped this long ago. The evidence is clear.

[niyad]

7. I have two friends who have major medical problems related to mercury fillings, one with

stage 3 kidney disease.

sure, there is no problem with mercury. that is why an entire school here was shut down when students intentionally spilled mercury.

[Orrex]

10. Let's unpack that, shall we?

I have two friends who have major medical problems related to mercury fillings, one with stage 3 kidney disease.

Kidney disease has as many potential causes as victims. How, exactly, did the nephrologist identify mercury fillings as the cause? Even if, for example, a biopsy revealed mercury buildup in the tissue, how was it determined that the mercury came from the patient's fillings and not from other environmental sources?

that is why an entire school here was shut down when students intentionally spilled mercury.

You're aware that the mercury spilled in THIS case--and in the other similar cases--is not the same as the mercury used in fillings? It's basically the reason why sodium sprinkled on your popcorn is problematic, but sodium chloride on popcorn is delicious.

[Archae]

9. More woo...

http://skepdic.com/dentalamalgam.html

[kristopher]

14. My goodness, you are quite the accomplished scientist, aren't you?

...It is incorrect to assume that because the oxygen and hydrogen are covalently bonded to each other, they form an inert chemical species. On the contrary, H2O plays a fundamental role in many types of chemical reactions, in which 1) the covalent bond is broken and in 2) which hydrogen bonds are formed between intact water molecules and a multitude of species. Oxygen bound in water frequently returns to its elemental state as O2, while hydrogen is protonated to H+. The supposedly inert water molecule plays regulatory roles in respiration, photosynthesis and countless other organic chemical transformations in which the covalent bond is split.

Mercury is no exception. The alloy it forms with silver, tin, copper, and zinc, is by no means permanent and inert (after all, the degree of homogenization within the alloy is subject to how well the dentist mixed the ingredients, by hand!). Like all chemical bonds, they are breakable and subject to the reactivity of their environment.

This Canadian study summarized the path of mercury vapor:

"During the past decade medical research has demonstrated that this Hg is continuously released as vapor into mouth air; then it is inhaled, absorbed into body tissues, oxidized to ionic Hg, and finally covalently bound to cell proteins".[2]

Any metal introduced to a biological system has the capacity to interact with that system, because many metals play critical roles in a variety of cellular processes. Metals of the same outer valence but with higher affinity for a particular binding site will intercede and replace the metals normally present within the biological system. This is how heavy metals toxify and accumulate in the body.

Remember, mercury was not chosen as the base of the dental amalgam alloy because it provides maximum stability (a stainless steel dental filling would be ideal). Mercury was chosen because it allows the creation of a filling at a relatively low temperature (due to the unique property of mercury to remain in a liquid state at room temperature)....

More "woo" here: http://www.pregnantdentist.org/Chemistry.html

[Archae]

15. Woo is woo.

The article cited in the OP referenced a number of people who make a great deal of money misinforming, testing and "diagnosing" health problems they claim are from amalgam fillings.

And as is natural for these people, science is thrown out, or attacked.

I see this with "cancer cures," chiropractors, naturopathy, supplement salespeople, anti-vaccine hysteria, and anti-GMO hysterics.

[kristopher]

17. I hope you don't seriously think your efforts are at a higher level.

They aren't. Your approach is dogmatic and knee-jerk... a cause looking for a victim.

But hey, it's the internet.

[Orrex]

26. Watch it, or he'll knock you down with his Gish-gallop.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

30. Tell it to the FDA. Or are you claiming to know more than they do?

[Demeter]

28. WTF WERE THEY THINKING?

This doesn't even get the "paranoia pass" that Terra,Terra, Terra wrote out one day in 2001.