Most Healthcare Providers Don’t Know About Mercury Dental Fillings
Mercury Dental Fillings are often referred to as “silver” amalgam fillings:
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires the provision of a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for any hazardous material that poses a threat to employees in a workplace. The purpose of the MSDS is to protect workers by supplying them with the most crucial facts about the hazardous material at their jobsite, such as the physical properties of the material, proper storage and handling techniques, known health risks, and essential emergency procedures. Here are a few highlights from MSDSs about mercury dental fillings:
MSDS excerpt from Kerr Contour (CA, USA) and others-
* “This product contains mercury, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.”
MSDS excerpt from Bethlehem Apparatus Company (PA, USA)-
* “This product is reported to cause reproductive effects in humans. Impotence has been reported in over-exposed males. Women occupationally exposed have reported menstrual disturbances, reduced ovulation, and spontaneous abortions. Mercury is excreted in breast milk.”
* “Mercury is highly toxic, irritating and causes sensitization and neurological symptoms.”
* “Mercury causes severe, adverse health effects after chronic exposure to low vapor levels. Emergency response efforts must be directed to removal of all traces of this product.”
* “The principal target organ associated with chronic Mercury exposure via inhalation is the central nervous system. Such exposures lead to the development of ‘Erethism.’ This syndrome consists of subtle or dramatic changes in behavior or personality: depression, fearfulness, restlessness, irritability, timidity, and indecision. These psychic and behavioral characteristics are often accompanied by insomnia, drowsiness, headache, fatigue. In advanced cases, memory loss, hallucinations, and mental deterioration may occur.”
The governments of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have already banned the use of mercury dental fillings in dentistry, Germany and Canada have limited their use for pregnant women, and France, Finland, and Austria have recommended that alternative dental materials be used for pregnant women. Find here more about deep cleaning vancouver.
Additionally, 19 members of the United States Congress wrote a letter to the FDA in 2009 to express their concern about mercury dental fillings, with a focus on potential dangers to pregnant women and children mattressmakers.com, and when Representative Diane Watson of California introduced the Mercury Filling Disclosure and Prohibition Act (H.R. 2101), she explained, “It is, in fact, children who are at greatest risk from these fillings.”
At a 2010 FDA Dental Products Panel hearing, Dr. Suresh Kotagal, a pediatric neurologist at the Mayo Clinic, stated, “There is really no place for mercury in children.”
Mercury’s damaging influence on the developing brain and neurological system makes mercury dental fillings an inappropriate material for use in children, pregnant women, and women of childbearing age.
It’s important to educate yourself about what goes into your body because even with all of this information publicly available (Creative Smiles can help with that), most healthcare professionals are unaware of the adverse health effects that may arise from mercury dental fillings.
