Mad Hatter in your mouth?
Mercury amalgam fillings. Lots of us have them. "Silver" fillings using mercury and other metals (that’s why it’s called an amalgam) have been used for more than 100 years by dentists. But … But we all know that mercury is a very toxic substance. The term "mad as a hatter" comes from the use of mercury in blocking hats in the past and the exposure to mercury made hatters, well, nuts. Mercury damages the nervous system and is a substance that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Then there are our fillings. They have mercury in them. Does the mercury leak out (as a gas)? Is it hurting us? Is it hurting our kids? These are big and important questions. Certainly worth time, effort, and study.
Today the results of two studies were announced that should let us breath a sigh of relief. According to the studies, there is no elevated risk of neurological problems in kids with amalgam fillings.
Great, however this raises a larger question, can you trust these studies?
Studies have shown … is one of those over-used phrases in both advertising and discussion. When it comes to our kids, do you want to take a chance?
Will this study mean that mostly kids who’s parents don’t have dental insurance will get amalgam fillings because more wealthy parents will just opt for the white fillings (those without mercury)?
In our society there are lots of risks to our health. Some avoidable (like smoking, hence why I have a clear patch stuck to my upper arm right now), others not. For the ones in question, like amalgam fillings, there are studies to determine risk.
So am I relieved? Yes. I do have old silver fillings in my mouth and I would rather not have to have them all removed and refilled (have I mentioned that I hate the dentist?). Do I trust the results? Trust is a strong word, but I think that I won’t panic if my kids had amalgam fillings. But if given a choice, I would opt for non-amalgam fillings.
Mental function is a subtle thing. The studies were not large, they aren’t long-term, and who knows what years and years of exposure could do.
So like all thing related to our kids’ health, knowledge is power. Do the research look at the range of studies, ask questions, and make informed choices.
Tags: mercury, mercury amalgam, dental fillings
April 20th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Ahhhhhhhhhh! I feel like screaming. It is so hard to decide for our kids what is best for them. The only thing we can do is to do the best can - silver fillings or no. What’s the better option? No teeth? :(
April 20th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
No kidding. The data is only moderately conclusive. Heck we all know that mercury leaches out (hence being present in the child’s urine) and we know it’s quite toxic, but is it enough to cause problems. They only looked at autism and not IQ or motor problems.
My gut is going to with risk avoidance if possible. So white fillings if needed. But that’s my own personal feeling.
April 20th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
This is a simmering issue among parents of children with autism. I have several friends who not only will not let their kids have mercury amalgam fillings, but who (I mean the parents) have gone back to the dentist’s chair and had their own filling removed and replaced.
April 20th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
And the same concern has been raised for the MMR vaccine and the preservative used in some vaccines in the past (which was made from mercury).
April 25th, 2006 at 4:00 am
[...] I submitted my Mad Hatter post to the Grand Rounds Blog Carnival for this week and holey smokes they accepted it! [...]