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US State Department Endorses Amalgam Phase-Down at UNEP Conference

U.S. government calls for the phase-out of amalgam!

In an extraordinary development that will change the global debate about amalgam, the United States government has announced that it supports a “phase down, with the goal of eventual phase out by all Parties, of mercury amalgam.”  This statement – a radical reversal of its former position that “any change toward the use of dental amalgam is likely to result in positive public health outcomes” –  is part of the U.S. government’s submission for the upcoming third round of negotiations for the world mercury treaty.*

 While couched in diplomatic hedging – remember it is still early in the negotiations – this new U.S. position makes three significant breakthroughs for the mercury-free dentistry movement:

1.       The U.S. calls for the phase-out of amalgam ultimately and recommends actions to “phase down” its use immediately.  Incredibly, the government adopted three actions that the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry and Consumers for Dental Choice 
          proposed at the negotiating session in Chiba, Japan.  Our key ally, The Mercury Policy Project, laid the groundwork for this success at a World Health Organization meeting in 2009!

 2.       The U.S. speaks up for protecting children and the unborn from amalgam, recommending that the nations “educate patients and parents in order to protect children and fetuses.”

 3.       The U.S. stands up for the human right of every patient and parent to make educated decisions about amalgam.

What does this mean?  Our position – advocating the phase-out of amalgam – is now the mainstream because the U.S. government supports it.  Who is the outlier now?  It’s the pro-mercury faction, represented by the World Dental Federation and the American Dental Association.  With the U.S. continuing its leadership role in this treaty, we will broadcast the U.S. position to other governments around the world, encouraging them to support amalgam “phase downs” leading to phase-outs not only globally, but within each of their countries.

We applaud the U.S. government.  But tough work lies ahead.  For example, we must demonstrate to the world that the available alternatives – such as composites and the adhesive materials used in atraumatic restorative treatment (“ART”) – can cost less than amalgam and will increase access to dental care particularly in developing countries.

 For now though, let’s mark this watershed in the mercury-free dentistry movement: the debate has shifted from “whether to end amalgam” to “how to end amalgam.”

Charles G. Brown
National Counsel, Consumers for Dental Choice
President, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry
5 April 2011

Evidence That Mercury from Dental Amalgam May Cause Hearing Loss in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

The leaching of toxic mercury from amalgam fillings has been implicated in hearing loss. Mercury toxicity has also been linked to multiple sclerosis (MS). It is believed that the toxic effects of mercury cause damage to the blood brain barrier, demyelination (damage to the nerves’ myelin sheaths) and slowing of the nerve conduction velocity. This experiment involved seven women aged 32-46 years who had been diagnosed with MS. The women underwent a standard hearing test in a sound booth and then had all their amalgam fillings replaced with composites. Six to eight months later they were again given the hearing test. Six of the seven patients had significantly improved hearing in the right ear and five of the seven showed improvement in the left ear. Overall, hearing improved an average of eight decibels. The conclusion is that amalgam fillings may be a significant factor in hearing loss experienced by MS patients and could be a factor in hearing loss in other people as well.

Siblerud RL, Kienholz E. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. 1997. Vol. 12. 240-44.

Mercury and Nickel Allergy: Risk Factors in Fatigue and Autoimmunity

This study examined the presence of hypersensitivity to dental and environmental metals in patients with clinical disorders complicated with chronic fatigue syndrome. Three groups of patients were examined through medical history, dental examination, and by using a modified test of blast transformation for metals-MELISA(R). The three groups consisted of the following: 22 patients with autoimmune thyroiditis with or without polyglandular autoimmune activation; 28 fatigued patients free from endocrinopathy; and 22 fatigued professionals without evidence of autoimmunity. As controls, a population sample or 13 healthy subjects without any evidence of metal sensitivity was included. Healthy controls did not complain of marked fatigue and their laboratory tests did not show signs of autoimmunity and endocrinopathy. We have found that fatigue, regardless of the underlying disease, is primarily associated with hypersensitivity to inorganic mercury and nickel. The lymphocyte stimulation by other metals was similar in fatigued and control groups. To evaluate clinical relevance of positive in vitro findings, the replacement of amalgam with metal-free restorations was performed in some of the patients. At a six-month follow-up, patients reported considerably alleviated fatigue and disappearance of many symptoms previously encountered; in parallel, lymphocyte responses to metals decreased as well. We suggest that metal-driven inflammation may affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) and indirectly trigger psychosomatic multisymptoms characterizing chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and other diseases of unknown etiology.

Sterzl I, Prochazkova J, Hrda P, Bartova J, Matucha P, Stejskal VD. Neuroendocrinol Lett. 1999; 20(3-4):221-228. 11462117 PubMed.

Mercury Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

Research conducted at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine has demonstrated that trace amounts of mercury can cause the type of damage to nerves that is characteristic of the damage found in Alzheimer’s Disease. The level of mercury exposure is consistent with those levels found in humans with mercury/silver amalgam dental fillings. The exposure to mercury caused the formation of “neurofibrillar tangles,” which are one of the two diagnostic markers for Alzheimer’s Disease. The scientists found that other metals, including aluminum, did not cause the damage. Previous research has shown that mercury can cause the formation of the other Alzheimer’s Disease diagnostic marker, “amyloid plaques.” In 2000, researchers at the Neurobiology Laboratory, Psychiatric University Hospital in Basel, Switzerland using neuroblastoma cells exposed to mercury demonstrated an increase in production of amyloid protein that makes up the amyloid plaques as well as significantly increasing the phosphorylation of Tau protein.

Leong CW, Syed NI, Lorscheider  FL. University of Calgary Medical School. 26-Mar-2001.