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Silver amalgam fillings

Arran

Does the NAS have any recommendations and advice about silver amalgam fillings which contain mercury, either for children with ASD or mothers of children yet to be born?

Both the NHS and the BDA steadfastly and adamantly insist that silver amalgam fillings are 100% safe and pose absolutely no health risks. The ADA and the FDA in the US also hold the same stance. This is despite independent research over the decades revealing that silver amalgam fillings do indeed leak out mercury. After all, amalgam is an alloy and not a compound. Any materials scientist will tell you that metals can and do dissolve out of alloys. The toxic effects of mercury on the human body is well known by toxicologists who are the world's experts on the subject. There really is no maximum safe limit for mercury as it is a toxic element that has no biological functions in humans or mammals. Very few dentists have formally studied toxicology so they only have rudimentary knowledge of the subject.

If silver amalgam is a safe material for filling teeth then it will also be a safe material to make toys out of, or dummies for babies. Therefore there is no logic to ban toys made of silver amalgam then allow the same material to be used to fill the teeth of a child who will play with the toys.

Amalgam is also the only filling material available for back teeth from an NHS dentist and children can have an unlimited number of amalgam fillings free of charge. White fillings (even for children) for back teeth are only available privately and patients must pay for them. An increasing number of countries in Europe and the developed world no longer permit dentists to install silver amalgam fillings in children or women of child bearing age unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Parents

  • I've had three fillings need redoing, as I have gingivitis, thick gums, it makes it difficult to clean my teeth properly. AS a kid/teen/adult I had so many fillings, but I could't understand why as I was always cleaning my teeth. I hated the dentist as a kid, it was only aged 33 I overcame much of my fear and had excess gums cut away, tho not all gum is accessibleto be cut back, and that still causes some problems. I broke a tooth on a toffee about 9 years or so ago, that one ended up getting pulledc 2010/11, and that caused trouble. That put me off going to the dentist for about five years. My dentist said about squirting water into the gums to remove any gunk, that wasn't too bad, every three months. Last time I went to the dentist in January she said I had three fillings needed redoing, was going to go back on 9th Feb,  but had a rotten cold, then postponed tpo 23rd, tho changed that to 16th March , as museum had an open day for volunteers on 23rd Feb (I'm looking to gain paid employment in a museum/heritage setting). IT was on Tuesday one tooth became really painful, so I managed to see my dentist yesterday, as I couldn't bear another week, she did one filling, have to go back for 2 more. THo I had the silver ones as the white ones I think are £140 each, I would like the white ones cosmetically, tho I wasn't sure if silver ones contained mercury or not still, I thought it was banned as it was poisionous. Guess I'll have to take the chance of mercury poisioning.             

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  • I've had three fillings need redoing, as I have gingivitis, thick gums, it makes it difficult to clean my teeth properly. AS a kid/teen/adult I had so many fillings, but I could't understand why as I was always cleaning my teeth. I hated the dentist as a kid, it was only aged 33 I overcame much of my fear and had excess gums cut away, tho not all gum is accessibleto be cut back, and that still causes some problems. I broke a tooth on a toffee about 9 years or so ago, that one ended up getting pulledc 2010/11, and that caused trouble. That put me off going to the dentist for about five years. My dentist said about squirting water into the gums to remove any gunk, that wasn't too bad, every three months. Last time I went to the dentist in January she said I had three fillings needed redoing, was going to go back on 9th Feb,  but had a rotten cold, then postponed tpo 23rd, tho changed that to 16th March , as museum had an open day for volunteers on 23rd Feb (I'm looking to gain paid employment in a museum/heritage setting). IT was on Tuesday one tooth became really painful, so I managed to see my dentist yesterday, as I couldn't bear another week, she did one filling, have to go back for 2 more. THo I had the silver ones as the white ones I think are £140 each, I would like the white ones cosmetically, tho I wasn't sure if silver ones contained mercury or not still, I thought it was banned as it was poisionous. Guess I'll have to take the chance of mercury poisioning.             

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