Health Risk in Dental Fillings Confirmed
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mecurdy-dental- fillings- 47060604_ (http://www.thedaily green.com/ print-this/
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FDA Issues New Mercury Warning Pregnant Women and Parents Must Hear
After years of denial, the Food and Drug Administration is now acknowledging
that mercury used in dental fillings could pose a health risk to fetuses and
young children. Mercury amalgams are commonly used to fill cavities in
people of all ages.
The FDA issued a new warning this week after lawsuits by consumer groups,
according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
_http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20080606_In_shift__FDA_says_mercury_fillings_may_harm_some.html_
(http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20080606_In_shift__FDA_says_mercury_fillings_may_h
arm_some.html)
Warning: "Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects
on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses."
The danger of mercury has long been known, and government controls on
smokestack pollution are designed to limit the fallout of mercury in the
environment, so as to lessen contamination of fish. Eating fish contaminated with
mercury is the most common way for people to be exposed, and pregnant women,
nursing mothers and children have been warned in recent years to be wary of how
much and which fish they eat.
Now, those concerns will spread to the dentist's chair.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin. In its toxic form it can interrupt the
normal development of the brain, causing permanent damage, like lowered IQ, and
other developmental problems.
The FDA has promised to issue new guidelines for the safe use of mercury in
dental fillings by the summer of 2009.
The news comes on top of a report earlier this year about Chinese-made
dental fillings being laced with lead, another potent neurotoxin. Click here
_http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/dental-lead-47030402_
(http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/dental-lead-47030402)
for the American Dental Association' s recommended 5 questions to ask before
getting dental work. (The ADA believes mercury in fillings poses no health
risk, but it is concerned about lead in dental fixtures.)
Find this article at:
_http://www.thedaily green.com/ environmental- news/latest/ mecurdy-dental-
fillings- 47060604_ (http://www.thedaily green.com/ environmental-
news/latest/ mecurdy-dental- fillings- 47060604)
(http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/dental-lead-47030402)
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