The Story on Silver Fillings
We recently had a patient send us information that questions the use of mercury-containing silver fillings and it inspired me to look at what's currently out there for "good science" on the subject.
(No doubt you have heard about the turmoil surrounding this subject.)
I'll be honest, we hadn't REALLY researched the research in 10 years. So one day I spent about 5 hours sifting through the information on the web to see what you might find there.
As is my usual style - I dove into researching this 110%. (You may know that I run our daily important posts on Facebook, so I have had to get VERY careful about "fact checking" everything before I put it out there for the public.)
Here's what I found:
*** I should preface all the following comments by saying that unequivocally - At Fiddlehead Dental, we only use mercury containing amalgams fillings very rarely. Very Rarely... We heartily agree that most of the time, there are much better materials to repair most teeth. We don't like how silver fillings look or feel. We don't like how they crack teeth. We have NO reason to advocate for them.
BUT... Bottom-line: Amalgam still remains one tool that should remain an option in certain circumstances. It is still the only kind of affordable dental filling that will last a long time under the gums or where the bacteria load is the highest. In a small child who will not cooperate by staying open,.. In someone with a serious gag reflex,... In the mouth of a disabled person who is challenging to work with, etc.. Any other kind a filling material will fail within a year in those situations.
All that said, I enjoyed the opportunity to look at the current information "out there" that tries to build a case against dental amalgams. Here is what I found:
- 1. Much of the material used as conclusive scientific findings is out-of-date. Here is one typical website that is using studies from 24 years ago as their best evidence. http://www.ecologos.org/hg.htm Look at the dates on these studies. The newest research sited was 1990's,.. years ago. I could only find a tiny, tiny number of studies done since cell phones were invented!
- 2. Much of the web material ssstrretches the truth a good bit. Read things carefully! And do some fact checking of your own... Many of the studies that the Anti-Amalgam people referred to as "Scientific Proof" are not making anything like concrete conclusions, yet they are sited as if they are conclusive.
*** You have to actually read the research papers that they are referring to. (They are banking on the fact that most people don't take the time to actually read what is being used as "proof".) I took the time to actually read the research they were referring to! Yikes!
Here's an example that is being used as concrete science: The quote in the conclusion of the research paper reads...
"Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that amalgam fillings may be a continuous source of organic mercury, which is more toxic than inorganic mercury, and almost completely absorbed by the human intestine."
These anti-silver filling websites use "theory" words, as if they were "conclusions". Words like "compatible with" simply mean that it is worth examining more closely. "Hypothesis" is literally defined as a guess, a theory, and an assumption. Nothing concrete there. And "may be" simply leaves it all up in the air as if it's all still a supposition.
Here's another study I found sited over and over, yet it too uses language that is FAR less than conclusive and in the end simply states that their conclusion is that it should be studied more.
** Obviously the source - Alternative Medicine Review - may also suggest some bias too this article.
Here's the quote:
" Conclusion
This preliminary study demonstrated
that the present protocol of removal of dental
amalgam in concert with the other multiple
aspects of our clinical treatment protocol
rapidly and consistently changed the
photo labeling characteristics of CSF proteins
in MS patients. However, no direct and
unassailable conclusions as to the etiology of
MS can be reached solely from this data.
Mercury has been documented to accumulate
in the very areas of the nervous system from
which the most dramatic clinical symptoms
of MS originate. Specifically, motor neurons
accumulate more Hg than sensory neurons,
and motor symptoms are seen to predominate
over sensory symptoms in MS. Although more
research needs to be done in this area, these
results suggest dental mercury exposure from
amalgams, as well as from any other chronic
low-grade mercury exposure, might be given etiology of MS in these patients.
Page 300 Alternative Medicine Review Volume 3, Number 4 1998
Copyright©1998
There is nothing "conclusive" about the wording in that paragraph,.. unless you are ssstretching to prove a point!
- 3. Many "anit-amalgam" websites will give you links to experts, and the links don't even work! I actually googled many of the "http's" that were given out for people on various webpages to get "more information", and they led nowhere. Try these....
"For more info on dental mercury and human health, see:
http://bioprobe.com/
http://hugnet.com/ "
- 4. You have to read these studies VERY carefully to tease out the actual usefulness of the information: Most of the studies are done on saliva content (or other body fluids) BEFORE or AFTER the dental filling or tooth was removed. Or in animals whose teeth wear down naturally. (unlike ours) Yes,.. that would cause a temporary spike in the amount of mercury you find in your saliva because the filling is drilled into powder and suctioned out of your mouth with the water coming out of the drill.
Here's a commonly sited article: http://www.iaomt.org/articles/files/files193/The%20Case%20Against%20Amalgam.pdf
None of the studies are done on fillings that are left undisturbed in the mouth! And what we really need to know if the fillings are giving off detrimental amounts of mercury when they sit undisturbed in our mouths for 20, 30, 40 years. We see these old silver fillings in 70 year old people all the time and the fillings don't appear to have changed in shape or size since the filling was put in 50 years prior. If they were eroding or otherwise being ingested, there should be some evidence of breakdown.
- 5. Be sure to look at the source of the studies. Universities are good (but remember to actually read the conclusions of the study yourself.) But many organizations that look "Official" are really just fake authorities that were formed to advocate for a very specific point of view.
Take "The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology". Sounds official and completely unbiased, doesn't it?.. Well if you google that organization it turns out that it was
"formally chartered as a Canadian non-profit corporation, representing dental, medical and research professionals who advocate mercury-free dentistry"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Academy_of_Oral_Medicine_and_Toxicology
Many of these organizations have an agenda that should be considered when you review the carefully selected material that they put forth. Some of the dentists who belong to these groups may be inspired because they can carve out a niche in their location as the "mercury free dentist", which is a good marketing angle, but may not serve every dental situation the best.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So,.... There's my take on the current swirl of information being used to rail against silver fillings. Sorry folks,.. it's just not good science or truth-telling.
BE SMART! Do your own homework!
Again, at Fiddlehead Dental we RARELY use silver fillings because we have better options for our patients. We don't like silver fillings because we surmise, from our experience, that they eventually crack teeth. But,... here in the year 2011, when we all have SO MUCH information at our fingertips, we are trying to be responsible and very careful about what we take to be useful, valid, evidence-based "facts", for or against every thing in our world.
Hope this helps you in this and other endeavors to look for good information on the web.
Warmly, Dr. Lynda and Dr. Chuck