Skeptics Still Claim Controversy Over Amalgam Fillings Despite Studies That Prove Otherwise

It has been proven to be safe and effective for years. But because one of its components is mercury, dental amalgam continues to get its share of unfounded controversy, according to a dentist in Carrollton who has used dental amalgams on his patients and even himself. "Time and again, dental amalgams continue to have their share of skeptics. That's why the controversies surrounding it always abound. But studies have proven that dental amalgams are safe. I've used them on my patients. Even I have one in me. None of my patients have complained of any side effects or any irritants. And I don't foresee that they would in the future," the dentist said.

Dental Carrollton oral care experts, who swear by the safety and effectiveness of dental amalgams, said that they have used amalgam, which contains an alloy of mercury with at least one other metal, in fillings whenever they are needed to be used. "They've been used for over 200 years," said one of the dentists. "Those amalgam fillings don't contain enough mercury to cause potential health problems associated with larger doses. Otherwise, given the millions of people who have used it for their oral health, we would have had an epidemic of gargantuan proportions. It's the dose that makes the poison. And in dental amalgams, the doses are practically negligible."

Dentists in Carrollton said that between 265 and 310 amalgam fillings are needed before even slight symptoms of mercury toxicity could be felt. A patient typically absorbs seven fillings on average. This means that the patient absorbs only about one microgram of mercury daily. The Environmental Protection Agency said that about six micrograms of mercury are absorbed daily from food, water and air. "Even the EPA's testament about doses of mercury being absorb refutes those claims that the mercury content in dental amalgams are not safe," aid one of the dentists.

A dentist in Flower Mound explained that in creating dental fillings, liquid mercury is dissolved and reacts with a powder of silver, tin and copper. It then forms a compound that contains no free mercury. "The claims made by those who are vocal against dental amalgams is this: that mercury is soaked into metal powder, like water into a sponge. They believe that since this is the case, it can come back out of the fillings. That's totally unfounded," said the dentist. He pointed out that the evaporation rate of mercury from amalgam is a million times lower compared to mercury that is pure.

Dental Flower Mound dentists refuted the claims by anti-amalgam activists who claim that dental mercury pollutes the environment. "That is not at all," said one of the dentists. He said studies have shown that dental mercury accounts for less than a quarter of a percent of mercury that re-enters the environment. "Even the EPA can attest to that," he said.

The amalgam controversy on dental fillings started in the 1970's. This was heightened because people were concerned by a couple of mercury-related health scares like those in Japan, where the release of methyl mercury into industrial wastewater caused a mercury build-up in shellfish and fish, which lead to severe mercury poisoning and the so-called Minamata disease. Another case was when a grain covered in mercury fungicide was baked into bread and consumed in Iraq, which killed hundreds of people.

By: Zyra Robinson

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Studies on the effects of amalgam fillings have been proven to be safe, although controversy still hounds it because one of its components is mercury, according to a dentist in Carrollton.