Mercury in dental fillings: safe or not, debate continues

Over the past few years, the debate about the safety of amalgam dental fillings - the silver kind which contain the toxic metal mercury - has grown.

A good friend of mine recently had all her silver tooth fillings drilled out, then underwent two rounds of intravenous chelation therapy and colon hydrotherapy to remove the released mercury from her system. On the other hand, my dentist has advised me that the worst way to deal with silver fillings is to drill them, a practice which would release more toxic materials and vapors into my body than simply living with the filllings in my mouth. As the debate continues in the health communtiy, I wonder if we'll ever know which approach is most sound?

The US Food and Drug Administration recently reviewed 34 studies of amalgam tooth fillings that contain the toxic metal mercury, and yesterday announced its conclusion that the use of such fillings is not harmful. Of course this will not convince anyone who strongly believes otherwise - chief among them proponents of naturopathy - and some concerned individuals have already alleged that this government conclusion is driven by politics and not concerns for the health of U.S. citizens. In fairness to these amalgam filling opponents, here is a link to holisticmed.com with a list of arguments against mercury filllings and their opinions as to their dangers.

Regardless of the FDA's conclusion that mercury fillings are safe in the mouth, its sister agency the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) does advise against using mercury in voodoo rituals, a practice which the EPA is not keen on regulating, since it may violate the U.S. guarantee of freedom of religion.

[Photo by d&e.]