Updated: 2/24/2020
The U.S. FDA called for further research on amalgam metal dental fillings after an important meeting in mid-December.
FDA Advisory Panel
You may remember an article we wrote in early December about dental fillings, entitled “Officials to Check Data on Potentially Poisonous Dental Fillings.” Here is an excerpt about the revisited controversy:
The FDA has gone back and forth on the issue for the last several years, eventually proclaiming it safe in 2009. Officials have recently decided to reexamine the data and evaluate whether their decision on its safety was accurate. The Administration currently backs the use of metal amalgam, but it requires products to carry warnings on appropriate usage.
No new data has been presented, officials say. They simply want more accurate information on how the data was originally weighed. In preparation for an upcoming meeting, outside sources have been asked to provide information on how much mercury is in a typical amalgam filling and what level of mercury poses a risk to the patient.
Now, after the anticipated meeting, there is still no official decision on its safety. It’s a big step, however, to call for further research, since the meeting initially intended to simply revisit the existing research. The advisory panel encouraged continued research on the material’s safety in order to change any ruling or official pronouncement.
Some may be upset that the FDA made no decision to change their ruling or reaffirm the current ruling, but this is still a positive step toward ending the controversy about amalgam dental fillings and ensuring the utmost safety in dental health.
Affordable… or Unsafe?
Many people supporting amalgam metal fillings do so because it’s more affordable than the white resin option. Dental work is expensive, especially if you don’t have dental insurance (or a dental insurance alternative, like the popular discount dental plans). For some, a metal amalgam filling might be the only option to eliminate a severe toothache. In those cases, it seems like the need to alleviate the immediate pain outweighs the possibility of potential harm.
In other cases, however, the price difference would not be the deciding factor on whether the patient actually received the filling or not. Then it might be worth the additional price to avoid the possibility of harm, if that possibility exists.
Ideally, continued research will reveal whether amalgam fillings are indeed dangerous or safe, and dental professionals can act accordingly. Until then, patients, with their dentists, must decide for themselves what the safest and most affordable option is for them.
I genuinely believe MS is caused by amalgam fillings and that the MS societies are using this illness to raise money for themselves. None of there websites even mention amalgam fillings as a problem which given the number of people who have gotten better after amalgam removal is very strange. I used to go to a community centre in the city where there was a girl on the front desk who had MS I told her of the troubles I had had with amalgam fillings and asked if I could have a look in her mouth. She had a mouth full of amalgam fillings and I told her these could be causing her condition. I didnt see her for a while but the next time I did she had had all her amalgam fillings removed and had all fake teeth. I watched her get magically better over the next six months too the point where she could now walk without a cane. She left the community centre and went of to study nursing MS is a scam!!!!!
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Thanks for your comment, Linda. I’m glad the removal of your fillings did the trick! I’m interested to see what additional scientific research they will find.
Never in a million years would I have thought there was anything wrong with amalgams. I believed the American Dental Association and my dentist until it happened to me. At age 27, I started to have unexplained health issues that escalated as time passed leading to a diagnosis of MS. I almost died and the amount of $$$$ spent in trying to keep alive is astronominical. The establishment as I found out LIED…all in the name of $$$$.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LISTEN!!! Removal of dental amalgam WILL BENEFIT those MS people that have a genetic predisposition and/or are hypersensitive to “mercury” let alone the other metals. Denial is rampant with this issue. What happened to common sense?
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1981. 3 hospitalizations, 8 different medications including oral and intravenous chemotherapy for MS, experimental Plasmaphoresis, bedridden for 10 years, slurred speech and dying. I had my dental amalgam mercury “silver” fillings removed and guess what? All symptoms gradually disappeared, NO medication, NO relapses, NO symptoms, except this left me in a wheelchair! Improvement started to happen 2 weeks after all amalgam fillings were removed. Prior to mercury dental removal I had 1 to 3 relapses per year and haven’t had 1 relapse since 1989.
I have been in contact with people since 1996 regarding their symptoms of mercury toxicity. The diseases encompass a wide range of symptoms from autoimmunity to heart problems etc. Unfortunately, some symptoms like mine manifest later in life. According to Dr. Boyd Haley, former Professor and Chair of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky and renowned toxicologist, says there are NO SAFE LEVELS OF MERCURY.
Amalgams contain 50% mercury, a poison and a neuro-toxin. A cross and skull bones with the word poison are on the label when the mercury comes into the dentists’ office. Mercury vapors are released 24/7 every time a person chews, drinks hot liquids, brushs their teeth, etc. See “The Smoking Teeth” at http://www.iaomt.org.
If denial is everywhere let the manufacturers determine if “mercury” is safe and that should end the discussion of safety vs. non-safety! It’s your decision…maybe nothing has happened yet… but when?
Linda Brocato
DAMS-IL
Consumers for Dental Choice, Washington, D.C.