Good News: The FDA says your dental fillings aren't going to give you mercury poisoning. They are, however, classifying "dental amalgam" as "Class II" or "moderate risk," so they can "impose special controls." [FDA] (Thanks, Laurie!)
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Comments:
They just want people to stop lifecasting their genitals.
@gaberussell: Yeah, if the stuff releases fumes, either from mixing the stuff or from drilling the old stuff out, it would affect dental professionals way more than patients. If not, it probably doesn't matter at all.
I've had a couple of old amalgam fillings replaced recently. (They were at least 20 years old.) Each time the dentist used dental dams to make sure I didn't accidentally swallow any of the crap when he drilled it out.
But the fluorine in our water supply is causing people to be more susceptible to communist indoctrination
@HurtsSoGood: Not to sound like a whacko, but the risk is over the longer-term life of the amalgam filling. Tape a nugget of radium to your wrist and you're not gonna die of radiation sickness the next day, but in 10 or 20 years you might have an issue.
And if there's no risk, why did the FDA classify it as a "moderate risk"? A huge component of the FDA memo outlined the vapors risk to patients and dentists.
This is why it's better to pay the extra for the 'white' fillings (just have to hope they don't cause cancer somewhere down the line).
@JoeDirt:
FlourIDE. If there were elemental flourine coming out of the tap, then all the wood in your house would burst into flame.
Amalgam fillings have mercury in them, and supposedly that mercury is chemically bound to the other ingredients. I am not the kind of person who falls for out-there health scares, alternative treatments, etc., but I do suspect that amalgam fillings are not safe. About 20 years ago I got 4 amalgam fillings within 2 weeks and became sick after that with something that doctors couldn't diagnose. After several years of learning to live with the symptoms, I happened to read an article about mercury toxicity from amalgam fillings. Being desperate, I received treatment for it, which helped some, and later had the amalgam fillings replaced with composite (white) fillings, and the health problems went away. That's not actual evidence, of course, but it certainly was my experience. If the fillings do excrete mercury, it goes without saying that it could affect someone's health.
Perhaps the reason they affect some people's health and not others is an unknown factor, such as the health of one's immune system.
@kaycee: It could also be the result of other heavy metal exposure. The amount of mercury in fillings + anything else that might have exposed the person to mercury (occupational exposure, dietary) could tip a person into having acute effects.
It's less likely with mercury, but happens every once in a while with lead. Lots and lots of small exposures end up causing immediate reactions once one additional and relatively mild exposure gets added.
@JoeDirt:
I was kidding too, and I got the joke as well. BTW, how do you preserve your precious bodily fluids? Are you a glass jars guy, or more of a 55 gallon plastic drum person?
This is simply hooey. If dental amalgam was such a big risk, it would be a risk to dentists and their technicians as well. I would even think it would be a greater risk to them, since they handle raw amalgam a lot more than the patient receiving it. I can guarantee you if I was a DDS and I even suspected that this stuff was unsafe, I'd stop using it, if for no other reason than to save my own skin.