Pamela MacArthur was a healthy artist whose body suddenly
started to twitch. She had nightmares and her face erupted
in boils so painful that it hurt to roll over in bed. Doctors
suggested drugs for acne and psychological disorders, but
MacArthur?s dentist had the solution. He removed nine metal
fillings and replaced them with plastic substitutes, and soon
she was fine.
MacArthur is one of a growing number of people who believe
their medical problems are caused by the mercury in their
dental fillings. Even though metal fillings are called ?silver,?
they are actually an amalgam of half mercury and the other
half a mixture of silver, copper, tin and zinc.
It?s known that that mercury fillings do release small
amounts of colorless, odorless mercury vapor into the bodies
of the 100 million Americans who have them, especially after
chewing food or brushing teeth. Mercury is a known
neurotoxin. The question is whether the emissions are high
enough to cause health problems.
The dental community is sharply divided over whether
mercury in fillings is harmful. The American Dental
Association says they rarely cause problems, and only in
people with mercury allergies, and are more durable than the
alternatives. Meanwhile, ?mercury-free? dentists insist that
their mercury fillings are slowly poisoning patients because
the fillings release the mercury into the blood. Research
findings are mixed.
A bill introduced in the Georgia Legislature in March would
require dentists to tell patients about the risks of these
fillings and about alternative fillings. The bill would also
would ban mercury fillings in children and in women age 45
or younger. Last fall, a California congresswoman announced
a bill to ban dental mercury nationwide.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is
proposing new guidelines for labeling and reporting of side
effects, and the National Institutes of Health is spending $9
million for two large studies of mercury fillings in children.
Caught in the middle are dental patients, who don?t know
whether to rush out and get rid of their silver fillings. Some
dentists suggest that symptomatic people such as
MacArthur, who may have a mercury allergy, should consider
getting fillings removed. This is even more true if fillings are
old and need to be replaced anyway. But because removing
fillings can actually release more mercury into the body, the
procedure is more risky for people who feel fine.
Dr. Michael Ziff, a retired dentist who fought a four-year
legal battle over mercury with the dental board in Florida, is
now executive director of the Orlando-based International
Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, a leading anti-
mercury group with about 400 dentist members. The
average American has seven mercury fillings, Ziff says. ?It?s
kind of like holding seven leaking mercury thermometers in
your mouth 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.?
Dr. Rod Mackert, a dentistry professor at the Medical College
of Georgia, says the fillings emit from 1 to 3 micrograms of
mercury a day, while people take in 5 to 6 micrograms a day
through food, water and air. The American Dental Association
prohibits its members from suggesting that patients have
fillings removed, though members can comply if a patient
requests it.
Mercury fillings have been used for at least 150 years,
Mackert says. ?It is unethical to allow the removal of fillings
for the curing of any disease, because there is no evidence
linking it to systemic disease,? he says. ?It would be giving
the patient a false hope.?
A January survey by the Chicago-based Dental Products
Report found that 20 percent of dentists no longer use
mercury fillings. Among those who do, two-thirds use them
in fewer than half the fillings they place. Dentists who
frequently remove mercury fillings, such as Dr. Ron Dressler
of Norcross, usually do so for patients who are referred by
doctors who treat chronic pain. The doctors run hair or urine
tests to detect mercury levels, and high amounts suggest
that the fillings should be removed.
Since removing the fillings can increase the amount of
mercury in the body before decreasing it, patients are
advised to use some form of chelating drug, which is a drug
that binds to metals and eliminates them through the urine.
Dr. Mark Merlin, a physician at the Atlanta Center for
Alternative Medicine in Dunwoody, says chelation is crucial
when fillings are removed. ?You have to get (the mercury)
out of the body; it?s been leaking into the body for years.?
Hyacinth Meeks, a patient of Merlin's, had a similar
experience. Plagued by migraines that made her head throb
when she walked even a block, Meeks became frustrated
with doctors who put her on mind-numbing sedatives and
painkillers. Her dentist was at first reluctant to take out her
seven fillings but eventually agreed.
``Within six months, there were no headaches,'' said Meeks,
48, of Austell, an office manager for an Atlanta wood
products firm. ``It has totally changed my life.''
Felicia Gaston of McDonough believes that her 3-year-old
daughter Tylicia's autism was caused by mercury in fillings
that seeped into breast milk. She is one of the plaintiffs in
the Georgia lawsuits.
``I should have been aware'' that metal fillings contain
mercury, Gaston said. ``I feel like her life has been taken
away from her.''
Some mercury-free dentists say they're treated like pariahs
by their peers, and many are unwilling to speak publicly for
fear of reprisal. Dr. Wayne King, a metro Atlanta dentist who
opposes mercury, said that, several years ago, the Georgia
Board of Dentistry threatened to punish him after he ran a
newspaper ad depicting a skull and crossbones with the
questions, ``Is there poison in your mouth? Do you have
symptoms of mercury poisoning?''
King was merely given a letter of reprimand, he said, and
records show no official sanctions against him by the dental
board. But to King, the don't-rock-the-boat message was
clear. ``They're afraid to let patients know what we're doing
to them,'' he declared.
The research is inconclusive, with studies both suggesting
and seemingly refuting links to various ailments. The debate
even divides institutions: One chemistry study at the
University of Kentucky found a relationship between dental
mercury and the conditions leading to Alzheimer's disease,
while another report at the same school, relying on brain
autopsies, found no connection. Research by University of
Georgia microbiologist Anne Summers suggests that
mercury from dental fillings makes the body more resistant
to some antibiotics.
Yet some studies indicate that plastic fillings also may leak
hazardous substances into the body, such as xenoestrogens
that can disrupt cell activity, said Mackert, the professor and
mercury supporter. ``Everything has a theoretical risk,'' he
said.
The U.S. Public Health Service says there is no evidence to
support claims of adverse effects from mercury fillings
except in cases of allergy.
A few countries, such as Sweden and Denmark, recommend
that dentists try to use alternative fillings, especially for
children and pregnant women. Arizona, California, Colorado
and Maine have laws requiring dentists to explain potential
mercury risks to patients, said Charles Brown, a lawyer with
Consumers for Dental Choice. Brown, a former attorney
general of West Virginia, has represented the group in
lawsuits in California and Maryland contending that the
dental profession threatens dentists who oppose mercury
and deceives patients by referring to fillings as ``silver.''
Last year, the California State Assembly disbanded the
state's dental board over the mercury issue. A state senator
who took part in that action, Democrat Diane Watson, is now
a U.S. representative and, in November, announced a bill
calling for stricter warnings, an inmediate ban on mercury
fillings in children and pregnant women, and an eventual
ban for everyone.
In February, the FDA announced a proposal to upgrade
dental mercury from a Class 1 to a Class 2 medical device,
which would require the makers of metal fillings to list all
product ingredients on labels and encourage dentists and
patients to report side effects.
Mackert said patients should ask their dentists about
mercury fillings if they're concerned. Most dentists will say
the fillings are safe and more durable than plastics,
especially for large fillings, but they may grant a patient's
request for an alternative.
And a sea change may be beginning. When Mackert needed
repair of a tiny mercury filling a few weeks ago, he went with
plastic
?I had a time bomb ticking in my mouth,? MacArthur
says. ?You could never convince me that it wasn?t mercury.?
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The parents of a group of children with autism have sued
several drug companies and dental associations in the United
States for allegedly exposing their children to the
neurological disorder in vaccines and dental fillings
containing mercury. Some scientists have linked mercury to
autism, a neurological disease that can cause severe learning
disabilities, impaired motor skills and repetitive behavior.
The American Dental Association, as well as several drug
companies, are accused of negligence in 11 lawsuits filed in
an Atlanta court. Georgia Power is also listed as a defendant
for allegedly releasing harmful mercury-containing emissions
into the environment.
Shawn Khorrami, an attorney for the families, says the
dental groups misled consumers by not telling them that
amalgam fillings contained mercury and could, when
implanted in women?s mouths, expose fetuses and nursing
infants to toxic levels of mercury. The drug companies are
being sued because they failed to warn parents that children
receiving vaccines containing the mercury-based
preservative thimerosal were at higher risk for mercury
poisoning. Khorrami says, ?These companies have been
hiding the ball from the American public.?
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Coffee may protect teeth from decay, according to Carla
Pruzzo of the University of Ancona, Italy, and colleagues. In
lab tests, some of its compounds stopped bacteria from
becoming active, which the first step towards dental cavities.
The coffee components chlorogenic acid, nicotinic acid and
trigonelline prevent decay-causing microbes from sticking to
a synthetic tooth surface. Trigonelline, the main contributor
to coffee?s bitter taste, is the most potent anti-adhesive.
Caffeine does little to fend off tooth decay, so decaf coffee
will still help prevent tooth decay.
Animal and human experiments will be needed to determine
whether or not they work the same way on real teeth.
Coffee beans ? both green and roasted -- have long been
known to contain antibacterial and antioxidant
chemicals. ?For eons, people have focused on caffeine as the
bioactive compound in coffee, but there are many others to
look at,? says Peter Martin, a researcher at Vanderbilt
University?s Institute for Coffee Studies in Nashville,
Tennessee.
Coffee is one of several foods being screened for substances
that prevent the early stages of tooth decay. Tea and
cranberry juice may alos contain ingredients that help
prevent decay. ?These studies may help us understand the
relationship between diet and cavities,? says Pruzzo.
To learn the surprisingly sophisticated medical secrets of
ancient Egypt, read ?Historical Deception: The Untold Story
of Ancient Egypt? by Moustafa Gadalla,
click here.
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