Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Federal review finds mercury fillings not dangerous

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 2, 2006

WASHINGTON - Silver dental fillings used to plug cavities are not dangerous even though they expose patients to the toxic metal mercury, federal health researchers said Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration reviewed 34 recent research studies and found "no significant new information" that would change its determination that mercury-based fillings don't harm patients, except in rare cases where they have allergic reactions.

The FDA released a draft of its review ahead of a two-day meeting next week to discuss the safety of mercury used in dentistry.

Consumer groups opposed to its use disputed the FDA's conclusions. The groups plan to petition the agency for an immediate ban on use of the cavity-filler in pregnant women.

"The science is over. There is no safe level of exposure," said Charles Brown, a lawyer for one of the groups, Consumers for Dental Choice. "The only thing standing between this and a ban is politics. They are still pretending it is a scientific question, but it isn't."

Amalgam fillings, also called silver fillings, by weight are about 50 percent mercury, joined with silver, copper and tin. Dentists have used amalgam to fill cavities since the 1800s. Today, tens of millions of Americans receive mercury fillings each year. Amalgam use has begun to decline, however, with many doctors switching to resin composite fillings, which blend better with the natural coloring of teeth.

With amalgam fillings, mercury vapor is released through tooth-brushing and chewing. Significant levels of mercury exposure can cause permanent damage to the brain and kidneys. Fetuses and children are especially sensitive to its harmful effects.

Scientists have found that mercury levels in the blood, urine and body tissues rise the more mercury fillings a person has. However, even among people with numerous fillings, exposure levels are well below those known to be harmful, the report said.

"If substantial scientific evidence showed that dental amalgam posed a threat to the health of dental patients, we would advise dentists to stop using it. But the best and latest available scientific evidence indicates that dental amalgam is safe," Dr. Ronald Zentz of the American Dental Association said in remarks to be delivered Wednesday to the joint meeting of FDA experts on dental products and neurology.

The meeting probably will not be the last word on the drawn-out fight over mercury fillings. As early as the 1840s, dentists were squabbling over whether gold or mercury-silver fillings were better, according to a March article in the Journal of the California Dental Association.

[Last modified September 2, 2006, 01:20:45]