December 3, 2008

FDA Reluctantly Admits Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children

This is actually recycling an old story from June, but I am gonna run it again anyway because the point needs to be made loudly.

Again... props to Amy and Angela of Mom's Against Mercury for forcing the FDA to do its job.

FDA Reluctantly Admits Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children
David Gutierrez Natural News
Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008

For the first time, the FDA has issued a warning that the mercury contained in silver dental fillings may pose neurological risks to children and pregnant women.

"Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses," reads a statement that has been added to the agency's Web site. "Pregnant women and persons who may have a health condition that makes them more sensitive to mercury exposure, including individuals with existing high levels of mercury bioburden, should not avoid seeking dental care, but should discuss options with their health practitioner."

The warning was one of the conditions that the FDA agreed to in settling a lawsuit filed by several consumer health groups.

"Gone, gone, gone are all of FDA's claims that no science exists that amalgam is unsafe," said Charles Brown, a lawyer for Consumers for Dental Choice, one of the plaintiffs.

"It's a watershed moment," said Michael Bender of the Mercury Policy Project, another plaintiff.

Mercury is a well-known neurotoxin that can cause cognitive and developmental problems, especially in fetuses and children. It can also cause brain and kidney damage in adults.

So-called dental amalgams, or fillings made with a mix of mercury and other metals, have been used since the 1800s. Although it is known that small amounts of mercury are vaporized (and can be inhaled) when the fillings are used to chew food, and though Canada, France and Sweden have all placed restrictions on the use of mercury fillings, the FDA has always insisted that amalgams are safe.

Dental amalgams are considered medical devices, regulated by the FDA.

Even the FDA's new warning stops short of admitting that dental amalgams are dangerous for the general population. Instead, it focuses on the same population that has already been warned to limit mercury exposure by consuming less seafood: children and pregnant women. The FDA says it does not recommend that those who already have mercury fillings get them removed.

Millions of people have received amalgam fillings, although their popularity has dropped off in recent years. Currently, only 30 percent of dental fillings contain mercury - the rest are tooth-colored resin composites made from glass, cement and porcelain. These alternative fillings are more expensive and less durable than amalgam, however.

In 2002, the FDA began a regulatory review of amalgam that was expected to be complete within a few years. In 2006, with the review still incomplete, an independent FDA advisory panel of doctors and dentists rejected the agency's position that there is no reason for concern about the use of amalgam. While the panel agreed that the majority of people receiving such fillings would not be harmed, panel members expressed concern for the health of certain sensitive populations, including children under the age of six.

The panel recommended that the FDA conduct further studies on the risks to children from dental amalgam, and that it consider a policy of informed consent for children and pregnant: that is, warning those groups of the risks associated with the fillings before installing them.

Part of the lawsuit centered on the FDA's failure to respond to these recommendations in a timely fashion.

"This is your classic failure to act," federal judge Ellen Segal Huvelle told the agency.

As part of the lawsuit settlement, the FDA must reach a final decision on the regulation of amalgam by July 28, 2009.

"This court settlement signals the death knell for mercury fillings," Brown predicted.
But J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Ipsita Smolinski disagreed, saying that the FDA is unlikely to ban amalgam entirely

"We do believe that the agency will ask for the label to indicate that mercury is an ingredient in the filling, and that special populations should be exempt from such fillings, such as: nursing women, pregnant women, young children, and immunocompromised individuals," Smolinski said.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

This just makes me sick, literally. My autistic daughter had FOUR AMALGAMS put in her mouth last year when we lived in Hawaii. I am looking into getting them removed but it is going to probably cost us close to 1000 dollars. I am going to get the two I have in my own mouth out eventually also.

I am still so mad at myself that I didn't say something to the ped dentist the day she got them. I didn't even think of it when she was going back to the exam room. But then again, with all the controversy around the amalgams that was brewing just a year ago, I cannot believe they put them in a PROFOUNDLY autistic child! ARRRGH!

FluorideNews said...

It's not just mercury in the dentists' arsenal causing harm. Fluoride is neurotoxic also. The following comment appeared on Dr. Mercola's website:

I have a 23-yr old autistic son who has multiple chemical sensitivities and is so sensitive to fluoride that he cannot take a 3-minute shower without quickly developing a horrific headache. We are stuck with Seattle's fluoridated water and spend tons of time and money providing him with fluoride-free drinking, cooking and bathing water.

I believe there are others with autism that are also sensitive to fluoride (because most have sensitivities to chemicals), but many parents don't know it. It took me 14 years to figure out my son got headaches from drinking fluoride and another 9 years to discover he can't even tolerate a 1ppm fluoride shower. I had thought that such a tiny amount couldn't possibly affect him negatively. He didn't used to have such terrible headaches when he was younger---his chemical sensitivities have gotten progressively worse. My son can only talk/respond a little and he has so many chemical reactions to hundreds of other substances that it can be difficult to sort out a chronic culprit like fluoride, but it's worth the effort.

I hope other parent's have figured out that, for an autistic person that talks very little, you should always consider that pain can cause negative behavior and chemicals, including fluoride in the tap water, can make an child's autistic symptoms increase...dramatically. In addition to headaches, fluoridated baths have also caused my son insomnia, with rapid heartbeat, pounding legs and screaming/yelling til 1-2am. I didn't know it was his bath back then.

I am so very thankful to Dr. Mercola for continually bringing up this extremely important topic. It is our duty---everyone one of us---to stop this poisoning of our nation's children, to inform our legislators, to demand unpoisoned water from our water utilities and to stop pretending that water fluoridation is someone else's problem. When our government systematically damages our children---with vaccines or fluoride---we all pay...some just pay more.


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/04/fluoride-exposure-may-contribute-to-early-puberty.aspx

***

For more info
fluoridation 101
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

Fluoridation News Releases
http://tinyurl.com/NewsReleases

Tooth Decay Crises in Fluoridated Areas
http://www.fluoridenews.blogspot.com/

Fluoride Action Network http://www.FluorideAction.Net

Fluoride Journal http://www.FluorideResearch.Org

Fluoride in the News: http://www.topix.net/drug/fluoride

Unknown said...

How in the world is the comment of a J.P. Morgan Securities analyst germane to a question about health and dental materials? As a nonpracticing pediatric dentist, that leaves me truly flabbergasted.

But I just had an epiphany! GRASSROOTS HEALTH ADVOCACY GROUPS MUST UNIFY ASAP in order to break the hold of business over the regulatory agencies, ending the politicization (corruption) of science. Staying alone in our niche fields, becoming experts on our niche topics and battling the status quo, topic by topic, simply isn't effective enough anymore.

Instead, if we eat and breathe or nurture the growth of children, we must unify and demand that the FDA, EPA, and AGRICULTURE DEPT do their jobs, so that science (not business) rules.

This must be bottom-up grassroots driven, it appears, much to my disappointment. Check this out -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/obamas-team-includes-dang_b_147188.html
Obama's Team Includes Dangerous Biotech "Yes Men"
Jeffrey SmithPosted November 30, 2008 | 10:43 AM

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/mr-president-lets-talk-about-food/
October 24, 2008, 7:02 am
Mr. President, Let’s Talk About Food
Author Michael Pollan, whose best-selling books have prompted readers to think differently about food, is now asking the next president to rethink the nation’s food policies.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11282008/watch.html
November 28, 2008
Bill Moyers sits down with Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley, to discuss what direction the U.S. should pursue in the often-overlooked question of food policy. Pollan is author of IN DEFENSE OF FOOD: AN EATER'S MANIFESTO. (Pollan talks about the hidden movement of millions of mothers who passionately care about their children and what they put into their children's bodies)

http://www.organicconsumers.org/

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1737

http://bellaciao.org/en/spip.php?mot21

Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health
By: David Michaels

Undermining Science: Suppression and Distortion in the Bush Administration
By: Seth Shulman

Collectively, the huge economic power of consumers can impose change, while we await proof that xyz cause no harm, rather than searching for proof that xyz is the factor responsible for our child's autism, our cancer, our newly acquired gastrointestinal or immunologicl diseases of unknown etiology, etc.

Planting Peace (which I discovered yesterday) sparked this idea.
http://organicconsumers.org/plantingpeace/index.cfm
and
http://www.democracynow.org/
Dec 3, 2008 program includes segment on environmental poisons of war
Why not?

Unknown said...

CORRECTION:
http://www.democracynow.org/
Dec 4, 2008 program (not 12/3)
includes segment on environmental poisons of war

Unknown said...

Please see minute 48

http://www.democracynow.org/shows/2008/11/25

Naomi Klein nails it. Oh, yeah, we must. Yes, we can!

Jim said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jim said...

"I believe there are others with autism that are also sensitive to fluoride"

Iodine may have something to do with this. This was posted today by Maria Janik (NWI NAA coordinator):

"I think our kids are more susceptible to flouride because of iodine deficiency.  Iodine is the ONLY thing which chelates halogens off of iodine receptors.  Flouride and chlorine from drinking water, fouride treatments and toothpaste, bromide in breads, etc., all sit on iodine receptors and further exacerbate iodine deficiencies including causing thyroid problems.
 
My kids get 440mcg of detoxifide iodine a day to combat this.  Kirkman's has iodine in their SNT but can't remember if they all have it.  Iodine is required to be supplemented to such an extent the gov't added it to salt.  Unfortunately the salt version isn't a good one and the "thyroid people" chastise anyone who uses regular table salt with iodide. So supplementing iodine may be the best way to fight your son's flouride poisoning."

Note that organic iodine (potassium iodide) not inorganic products such as Iodoral or Lugol's appear to be the best way to get iodine into the system (inorganic iodine can actually turn active T3 thyroid hormone back into the storage T4 form).

There is speculation that at least some ASD kids have a dysfunctional iodine transporter, which leads to hypothyroidism, which then (among other problems) contributes to acidic pH by altering kidney function. This leads to over-producution of oxalic acid by the liver (hypothesized to occur via lactate dehydrogenase, which normally turns lactic acid into pyruvic acid, but in an acidic environment will generate oxalic acid instead). This leads to the familiar oxalate problems seen in many kids. Normalizing thyroid function with iodine, as well as body pH using bicarbonate, will eliminate these problems, as is outlined in the "Vitamin K" protocol (really the "fat soluble vitamin" protocol as it supplements all the main fat solubles - A, D, and K. E is also important, especially the gamma-tocopherol form)

About fluoride: a member of the ABMD group ("DadFourKids" I believe it was) noted that his son with autism appears to be sensitive to fluoride, and it seems to especially mess up his sleep/wake schedule. I have read that fluoride may like to accumulate in the pineal gland [1, 2], which regulates the sleep-wake cycle with melatonin (a hormone which modules plenty of other things as well).

My concern would be with the FDA's recommendation that pregnant mothers "get them removed". This of course is good - but who's going to ensure that the dentists do it in a safe manner and not cause more mercury contamination and harm in the process? (harm to the patient, to say nothing of the dentist!)

My other concern would be what they would replace them with. Probably almost any composite filler would be better than mercury, but immunological sensitivity to the composites has been alleged as well - it seems there is almost nothing to which 100% of people are not sensitive to. Hal Huggins (author of "It's All In Your Head") says he runs immunological testing on filler materials to find a safe replacement as part of a safe amalgam replacement protocol.

With more and more people with autoimmune diseases, allergies, asthma, and other immune abnormalities (including "non-HIV AIDS", and things we don't even really know about yet such as possible neuro-immune disorders).. This becomes very important.

Of course, it's only important if you actually care about the health of the citizenry. Since when has the FDA really and consistently done that?

Jim Witte

[1] Jennifer Luke's research on fluoride and the pineal - FluorideAlert.org

[2] Luke J. 2001 "Fluoride Deposition in the Aged Human Pineal Gland" Carrie Res. 35(2): 125

Unknown said...

Off the top of my head and in defense of water floridation, an entire generation of healthy children grew up with minimal or zero dental caries before the explosion in the prevalence of autism. Surely, epidemiological studies exist which prove this.

GMO containing foods? That's another story and I strongly urge everyone to read GENETIC ROULETTE by Jeffrey M. Smith. Please look at his website, check out the book's references, etc. He's been vetted by prominent academics and scientists with integrity, including several who were fired for pursuing honest research. By the way, this is a nonpartisan issue, in fact, in his first book he details (paraphrasing Bush attack book above) 'undermining science: suppression and distortion in the Clinton and Blair administrations.'

http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Home/index.cfm

http://www.seedsofdeception.com/GMFree/AboutGMFoods/WorldAccordingtoMonsanto/index.cfm

Unknown said...

TYPO: fluoridation

Unknown said...

Here's what appears to be a politically saavy consumer food safety blog I just stumbled upon the other day, the type of group to form an alliance with in order to pump up 'informed people' power and to protect our children.

http://www.lavidalocavore.org/

http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do;jsessionid=F35770AB0FDEE786B269A4BCD5EA1749?diaryId=675

Unknown said...

Savvy (Apologies - I promise not to post in haste again before proofreading)

Unknown said...

La Vida Localvore is vetted by Yale Sustainable Food Project Weblog participants and vice versa.
http://yalesustainablefoodproject.wordpress.com/about/
EXCERPT
"The world’s most pressing questions regarding health, culture, the environment, education, and the global economy cannot be adequately addressed without considering the food we eat and the way we produce it."
Blogroll (links @ site):
Food Junta
Grist
La Vida Localvore
Mulch: A blog on agriculture, farm policy, and food safety
Organic on the Green
Slow Food on Campus

Both groups urge immediate online public input for different yet related issues. All readers of this blog should consider voicing their concerns and expectations about the food our families consume.

http://yalesustainablefoodproject.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/usda-seeks-public-comment-on-syngenta-gm-corn/
USDA Seeks Public Comment on Syngenta GM Corn December 4, 2008

http://www.lavidalocavore.org/showDiary.do?diaryId=675
ACTION: GO WEIGH IN at Change.gov. Details on each of the people on the short list for Obama's Secretary of Agriculture are below.

Unknown said...

More news on the FDA (please ignore any editorializing or hyperbole, the facts alone are devastating):

http://www.organicconsumers.org/
articles/article_16111.cfm
(continuous link)

Scientists at the FDA Revolt Against its Corruption
FDA Scientists Revolt Against Corrupt Food and Drug Administration Officials
By Mike Adams
Natural News, November 24, 2008

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Ellen Alemany said...

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UPDATE said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
lg said...

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