My doctor is very confident that as I lower my mercury levels, much of my health will return. He believes that removing my amalgam fillings is a significant component in this process. Obviously this topic is rather controversial especially if you talk to your own dentist!! Therefore, I decided to check out what the Canadian Dental Association has to say about this matter.
First, I learned that they confirm that “amalgam fillings release minute amounts of mercury vapour, especially with chewing, and that this mercury can be absorbed, reach body organs, and cross the placenta.” However they qualify that no study verifies that this amalgam causes illness in the general population. Notice the word, “general population” since that will be used quite often. They also acknowledge that mercury is a ”poisonous metal and that very small amounts of mercury vapour are released from amalgam with chewing.” The video I have included at the end of this posting will dispute their confidence that it is only very small insignificant amounts! They further acknowledge that “the mercury absorbed from all sources accumulates in body organs and tissues, mostly in the kidneys, but also in the brain, lungs, liver and gastrointestinal tract.”
I love the word “estimates” when they attempt to answer what amount of mercury does a person take into the body: “Health Canada estimates that for the average Canadian adult 20 to 59 years old the amount of mercury absorbed by the body from all sources is about nine millionths of a gram per day. Of this total, dental amalgam is estimated to contribute about 3 millionths of a gram per day. “ This sounds like a miniscule amount doesn’t it? However, I have recently learned how very little estrogen our body requires to operate normally and I realize that minuscule amounts of “extra” can completely unbalance how a system is supposed to work. Also, what number of amalgam fillings are they using and how big are the fillings that they are using to calculate this amount? I have 10 large fillings and two small fillings which is probably quite high particularly for young people who don’t have the same dental work done as was done forty years ago.
I was getting a little irritable when I read their answer to the question, “Is the mercury which is absorbed into the body harmful?” They write, “For the overwhelming majority of people no harmful effects are known to be caused by the average levels of mercury exposure from amalgam fillings. “ That is a confident statement worthy to be trusted as long as you believe that you belong to that general population. I was also frustrated when they attempt to use science as evidence of the harmless effects. They state that, “Scientific observation of patients over the course of 150 years of using ever-improving formulations of dental amalgam is the foundation of CDA’s confidence in this material for general use.” Tell me how patients would have been clearly observed when developing a pure science experiment to observe the effects of amalgams would be incredibly difficult. Could you find enough people who all have the same number of fillings, the same age of fillings, the same health issues? I don’t know how they would eliminate all of the spurious factors. I would have respected this Association more if they had admitted to the enormity of the task to effectively observe its effects on that general population, rather than trying to convince its readers that science also proves their conviction that amalgam fillings are perfectly acceptable.
Now tell me, if they are so completely confident of their past 150 years of untarnished record using amalgam, how could they also concede that “every time a foreign substance is used in the human body for therapeutic purposes, there is an element of risk.”
I actually think the real problem is that it is incredibly difficult to prove or disprove the effects of mercury. I also think that most likely that general population may respond beautifully to ingesting mercury. Or do they? The problem is that we expect each body to respond in the same way so that we can make broad statements about that general population. Unfortunately, most of our bodies don’t claim to be part of that general population. Some react to eating too much gluten, others to dairy, and others to caffeine. Some react to inhaling perfume, well you get my point.
For all of their confidence in amalgams, it is interesting that there is an openness to substituting amalgam fillings as they write, “the dental profession is aware of research to find more durable alternatives to amalgam and these materials may be available within the next decade.” I am left with the inference that they would then stop using amalgams even though they are so completely confident in its use and they would begin using something else!
The Canadian Dental Association admits that amalgam fillings are not safe for every patient. “It has been estimated that the prevalence of mercury sensitivity in the general population is approximately 3%.” What if they used different variables and eventually learn that that percentage is actually much higher than they were aware of? They state that “alternatives may be considered for individuals who are immunologically compromised or who suffer from a neurological condition.” What if there are many more people who are immunologically compromised and sadly the patient and the dentist are unaware of this.
Finally, it is also interesting that they quote Health Canada who states that while “the research evidence did not support excluding children, pregnant or lactating women…from receiving amalgam fillings…common sense dictated that pregnant women should avoid any elective medical or dental intervention until after delivery.” Should common sense also tell us that even the general population should avoid receiving amalgam fillings?
For more details see the following link for the Canadian Dental Association:
http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/faqs_resources/faqs/dental_amalgam_faqs.asphttp
No comments:
Post a Comment