By Dr. Mercola
“The next generation of Europe’s children are safe from toxic dental
mercury,” proclaims Charlie Brown, president of Consumers for Dental
Choice and the umbrella World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.
Starting July 1, 2018, amalgam use is banned for children under the
age of 15 and for pregnant or nursing women — anywhere in the vast
European Union (EU)1,2 — 28 countries in all, with a population totaling more than half a billion people.
“This landmark achievement still has to be officially ratified,” Charlie says,
“but all three European Union institutions, the [European] commission,
the Council [of the European Union] and the European Parliament have
reached consensus.
“The ban on amalgam for children in Europe, we promise you, will
reverberate in favor of the children across the world — in America North
and South, in Africa, and in Asia and the Pacific,” said Brown.
“The game changer that will do in amalgam is the Minamata
Convention on Mercury, which requires every participating nation to act
to reduce amalgam use. The Convention is expected to become legally
binding in the middle of 2017.”
The hard-fought victory in Europe came after six grueling years of
reports, hearings before the Commission, meetings at the Parliament,
events in the national capital cities and in the E.U. capital city of
Brussels, and submission of testimony to a seemingly unending number of
players.
Civil society — the public — mobilized at a level rarely seen on an
issue so intertwined between environment and health concerns.
In an internet vote called by the European Commission, 88 percent of
the public voted for a phase-out of amalgam as opposed to only 12
percent to keep amalgam — and voter turnout was double that of any other
Minamata issue.
European-wide nonprofit groups brought their networks to the
forefront, and were joined by nation-based environmental and patient
rights’ groups from France, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland,
Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain and Italy.
At the outset of the campaign in 2010, every major European Union
institution supported amalgam. At the end, in 2016, no major European
Union institution did.
Brown pays particular homage to four Europeans who led the campaign:
Elena Lymberidi-Settimo from Greece; dentist Dr. Graeme Munro-Hall from
the U.K.; Marie Grosman from France; and Florian Schulze from Germany.
Thank You for Supporting Mercury-Free Dentistry!
Mercury-containing amalgam is a primitive, pre-Civil War pollutant
that has no place in modern dentistry. Compelling evidence shows that dental amalgams readily release mercury in the form of vapor every time you eat, drink or brush your teeth.
A single amalgam filling
may release as much as 15 micrograms of mercury per day; 10 micrograms
per day is average. To put that into perspective, eating mercury-tainted
seafood can expose you to about 2.3 micrograms per day, and that alone
was enough for scientists to call for a worldwide warning in 2006.
Brown, a twice-elected former attorney general for West Virginia, has
committed nearly two decades of his life to protecting children and
grownups around the world from the dangers of mercury amalgam.
Consumers for Dental Choice has been a Health Liberty
partner with us since 2011, and this victory is a powerful
demonstration of the impact you can have when you donate money to our
Health Liberty partners.
We worked long and hard to identify these partners, and Consumers for
Dental Choice is one of the most effective consumer protection
organizations out there. Charlie has spearheaded the creation of an
enormously dedicated and effective international team operating in
dozens of countries on every continent.
I would personally like to thank all of you who donated to this cause
earlier this year and in years’ past. Your financial support is what
makes these kinds of victories possible. Yes, you CAN make a difference
in other people’s lives.
Next Steps for Europe and Elsewhere
Next, each of the 28 European countries must submit a plan for how
they are going to reduce amalgam use in the remainder of the population.
The most vulnerable, the children, are now protected from the dangers of amalgam, but in all reality, amalgam should not be placed in anyone, of any age or gender.
These plans are due by July 1, 2019, and by then, Charlie suspects most countries will opt to phase out amalgam entirely.
As for the United States and Canada, now that the entire EU is taking
a strong stand to protect the health of children and pregnant/nursing
women, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada
will be pushed to reconsider their stance.
So far, they’ve both chosen to protect amalgam producers and the profits of pro-mercury dentists.
However, while the EU situation will turn up the heat on these
agencies, Charlie urges all consumers everywhere to refuse to do
business with any dentists who still use mercury amalgam in their
practices, because consumer pressure is the fastest way to eliminate the
practice.
In related good news, on December 15, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule restricting dentists’ mercury
discharges.
After more than a decade of debating the issue and an additional five
years of delays, the agency finally finalized requirements for dentists
(placing or removing amalgam) to install amalgam separators to prevent
mercury from being flushed down the drain, entering municipal waste
water treatment facilities and being haphazardly released into the
environment.
Dental offices are “the largest source of mercury in municipal
wastewater, the largest consumer use and also the largest reservoir of
mercury in use today,” said Michael Bender, director of the
Vermont-based Mercury Policy Project and a strong supporter of the World Alliance for Mercury-free Dentistry.
He
called the separators, which the EPA estimates will cost dentists about
$800 per year to operate, “a practical, affordable and available
technology for capturing mercury.” As reported by E&E News reporter
Gabriel Dunsmith:3
“EPA pegs total discharge from dentists' offices at 5.1 tons
annually. The new rule will enforce the use of amalgam separators, which
capture mercury before it is discharged.
The technology will eliminate dental mercury discharge, the
agency said, in addition to 5.3 tons of other waste metals. In a fact
sheet, EPA said its new rule is a ‘common sense solution to managing
mercury that would otherwise be released to air, land, and water.’"
The Fight Continues for an Amalgam-Free World
Seeing the European Union decision as a springboard, Consumers for
Dental Choice and the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry have
launched a campaign to ban mercury amalgam for every child everywhere.
“We target 2020 as victory year for the world’s children,” said Brown.
“This victory for Europe’s children will lead us to for the children of
Asia, Africa, and America North and South. Amalgam belongs only in
museums that feature failed medical strategies.”
As noted by Elena Lymberidi-Settimo, Zero Mercury Campaign project coordinator with the European Environmental Bureau:4With
this agreement Europe takes an important step toward returning to world
leadership in implementing the Minamata Convention. These steps toward a
phase-out of dental amalgam will now resonate across the world.”
Conspiracy of Silence Has Finally Been Broken
As previously explained by Charlie, there’s been a decades’ long
conspiracy of silence in the dental community, and for good reason. No
patient in their right mind wants amalgams in their mouth once they
understand that half of it is toxic mercury, and so it was kept a
secret.
There was even a gag order on dentists preventing them from informing
their patients that amalgam contained mercury, and dentists who dared
speak out about amalgams risked losing their license for doing so.
This is why amalgams have misleadingly been called “silver fillings” —
a description based on their color rather than the actual composition
of the material, 50 percent of which is mercury, NOT silver. Not only do
amalgams leach mercury into your system, they also increase the
likelihood of your teeth cracking and requiring additional dental work
later on.
For consumers, dental patients and dental workers, there is no
advantage to amalgam — none whatsoever. It isn’t even a modern filling
technologically. One group, however, does benefit: the “drill, fill and
bill” dentists who cleverly make more money per chair per day doing
assembly line dentistry. It’s past time for these polluters to switch to
mercury-free dentistry, and it’s time too for their patients to either
insist on mercury-free fillings or head out the door to another
dentist.
What the pro-mercury dentists are not telling patients is that
dentists are making money again on the back end. Being a metal that
expands and contracts, amalgam can crack teeth and are not at all (like
composites and ionomers) tooth-friendly. So amalgam costs us a lot more
than composite once we factor environmental costs and future tooth
restoration costs, or either one of those.
Composite materials are only about 20 percent more expensive than
amalgam, and on small cavities there’s no difference in price. Some
materials, such as ionomers, are actually less expensive than amalgam.
The conspiracy of silence kept consumer knowledge at bay for a long
time. Fortunately, Zogby polls shows the number of people who know
amalgam is mercury has doubled in the last eight years. And, as
predicted, once they know it, they don’t want it.
Are Your Amalgams Causing Health Problems?
Dental mercury fans the flames of inflammation, which is a key factor in
most chronic disease. It also impairs your body's ability to detoxify.
You may be particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of mercury if
your immune system is in any way compromised, or if you are exposed to
other toxins, in which case mercury has a tendency to become even more
toxic.
General symptoms of mercury poisoning can easily be overlooked or
misdiagnosed. If you have any of the following symptoms or a
combination, you might want to have yourself screened for heavy metal
toxicity:
Impairment of vision, hearing, or speech, including light sensitivity
Mood swings, nervousness, anxiety, or irritability
Insomnia
Important Information About Amalgam Removal
For those of you who have mercury fillings, I recommend having them very
carefully removed by a competent biological dentist who follows
professional protocols for amalgam removal. It's VERY important to have
it done correctly. When amalgams are removed, a large amount of mercury
is released, and if the proper precautions aren't taken, your body can
absorb a massive dose of mercury that can lead to acute kidney problems.
I experienced this myself more than 20 years ago when I had my
amalgams removed by a non-biological dentist. Biological dentists, on
the other hand, are well aware of these dangers. Some of the steps that
need to be taken to keep you and your dentist safe during amalgam
removal include:
Providing you with an alternative air source and instructing you not to breathe through your mouth
Putting
a rubber dam in your mouth so you don't swallow or inhale any toxins,
and using a high-volume evacuator near the tooth at all times to
evacuate the mercury vapor
Using a cold-water spray to minimize mercury vapors
Washing
your mouth out immediately after the fillings have been removed (the
dentist should also change gloves after the removal)
Immediately cleaning your protective wear and face once the fillings are removed
Using room air purifiers
By Refusing to Cover Composite Materials, Insurance Companies Impose Great Harm
Disturbingly, many insurance policies still refuse to pay for
composite fillings. Others that do cover composite fillings will only
pay up to the cost of an amalgam, leaving you to pay the difference. As a
result, people who have dental insurance are actually more likely to
get amalgam than those paying out of pocket.5
When insurance companies refuse to fully pay for mercury-free
composite fillings for all teeth, they harm more than your pocketbook.
They harm:
Your health: Dental amalgam releases neurotoxic
mercury vapor into your body. Children, the unborn, and the
hypersensitive are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of
mercury. Amalgam also requires the removal of healthy tooth tissue,
thereby weakening tooth structure and increasing the risk of cracked
teeth — leading to higher dental bills later.
The environment: Dental amalgam is the largest
source of mercury pollution in the U.S. Once amalgam’s elemental mercury
reaches the environment, it can convert to methylmercury, which can
contaminate the fish we eat. Mercury pollution can cause health
problems, especially for children and the unborn, whose brain and
nervous systems are still developing.
Your dental office: Dental amalgam can contaminate
dental workplaces with mercury, which exposes dentists, dental
hygienists, dental assistants, front office staff and visiting patients
to this toxin. Due to this constant exposure, dental professionals —
many of whom are women of childbearing age — have been found to have
higher systemic mercury levels than the general population.
Demand Your Choice
Today, about 50 percent of American dentists offer mercury-free
dentistry, up from 3 percent 20 years ago. To accelerate change in the
U.S., Consumers for Dental Choice is urging all American consumers to
demand mercury-free dentistry — both from your dentist and from your
insurance company. If they refuse, switch dentists; switch insurance.
At present, many insurance companies, including Delta Dental, Aetna,
Equitable and Humana typically will pay only for amalgam in your molars,
even though composite, not amalgam, has become the standard and
mainstream filling material in North America. And, since mercury-free
dentists — again, about half of all dentists in the U.S. — will not give
you an amalgam filling anywhere in your mouth, the insurance company
profits handsomely since you then have to pay the bill out-of-pocket
even though you’re insured! As previously noted by Brown:
“They sell an artificially low-price policy to get you in. That's
a bait and switch. It's time to hold all of them accountable … Challenge yourinsurance
company; demand your claim be paid, and work with your mercury-free
dentist to do that. We have the paperwork if you push the “Demand Your
Choice” button … We can change this from the grassroots up. We're not
going to wait on the FDA … We're going to simply change the market.”
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