Dentists' use of mercury bad for kids - by SANDRA DUFFY
I am a lawyer and health activist in Portland and a member of both Mothers Against Mercury Amalgam, also known as MAMA, and Consumers for Dental Choice. I organized the Feb. 21 protest against the Multnomah County Dental Society event that provided free dental care to low-income children -- a program that included placing dental fillings that are 50 percent mercury, a potent neurotoxin.
Dr. Ronda Reese, a dentist who participated, writes that she is "disgusted that any group could be so misinformed as to protest such a hugely beneficial public health project" ("In My Opinion," Feb. 28.)
Free dental care is admirable, but use of mercury as a filling material is not. Mercury fillings are never free; the cost is health and that was the point of our protest. Reese admits that "silver mercury fillings" were placed in some of these children, but dismisses mercury as a toxin, asserting that it is sugar-laden diets and negligent dental hygiene that poison children because they result in tooth decay.
States, including Oregon, have passed laws to limit products containing mercury. The American Medical Association has called for the elimination of mercury in health care. Yet, according to the American Dental Association, 60 percent of Americans are unaware that amalgam dental fillings are 50 percent elemental mercury.
The World Health Organization Web site states that amalgam is the primary source of mercury in the human body. Scientific studies have corroborated this and belie the dental industry's claim that the mercury in amalgam is not bioavailable (bioavailable means it can be absorbed by body tissue).
The dental industry also claims there is no credible science that amalgams are harmful. Yet, an Internet search on PubMed of "mercury amalgam" will provide more than 1,000 studies that show otherwise. These include studies showing that mercury passes through the placenta of the pregnant woman to the fetus, as well as into breast milk postpartum, targeting the brain and kidneys. The amount of mercury correlates to the number of amalgams in the mother's mouth. Mercury affects enzymes, proteins and hormones in the body, leading to a range of health and behavioral problems. Even manufacturers of mercury amalgam warn that it is a neurotoxin and a nephrotoxin.
We "uninformed" protesters have personally known the effects of mercury toxicity and the challenge of regaining our health. We are activists for mercury-free dentistry solely because it is the right thing to do. There is no economic motive for us. Yes, these children should have better diets and dental hygiene, but mercury is clearly more toxic than sugar and shouldn't be an added disadvantage to burden these children. There are safe alternatives.
Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, is sponsoring Senate Bill 681, which would ban mercury amalgams in children under 19 and in fertile women beginning in September 2003, and would ban it for all Oregonians beginning in 2008. If mercury amalgam must be placed in vapor-proof containers and handled as hazardous waste leaving the dental office, how can it possibly be safe in the human mouth? Dental consumers can learn more at www.toxicteeth.org.
Sandra Duffy of Lake Oswego is a lawyer.
Source: The Oregonian