Breaking News: Genetic Health Risks of Dental Mercury

Dental Group Defends Mercury Fillings Amid Mounting Evidence of Risks

Greg Gordon, McClatchy January 5, 2016 

HIGHLIGHTS

Researchers: Brain effects threaten up to 4 in 10 people with certain genetic traits

Food and Drug Administration defends safety of mercury dental products

Thirteen years after issue arose, EPA yet to order controls on dental mercury discharges

EXCERPT

"THE ADA OWES NO LEGAL DUTY OF CARE TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM ALLEGEDLY DANGEROUS PRODUCTS USED BY DENTISTS. THE ADA DID NOT MANUFACTURE, DESIGN, SUPPLY OR INSTALL THE MERCURY-CONTAINING AMALGAMS. ... DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION RELATED TO THE PRACTICE OF DENTISTRY DOES NOT CREATE A DUTY OF CARE TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM POTENTIAL INJURY."American Dental Association response to a patient lawsuit

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article53118775.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: Dental Group Defends Mercury Fillings Amid Mounting Evidence of Health Risks

Tests Suggest Mercury in Air at Some Dental Clinics 

Greg Gordon, McClatchy DC, January 5, 2016

Highlights

Firm finds soaring mercury levels in visits to dental offices

Dental workers among those sickened by toxin

‘There are kids running around everywhere. . . . It’s nuts’

Read more here: Tests Suggest Mercury in Air at Some Dental Clinics

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION May 2015 - HELP THE TOXIC SUBSTANCE ABUSED FOR HEALTH, LOWER COSTS

1. Patient Labeling of All Installed Medical and Dental Devices

2. Funding Recovery Services for Device Related Illnesses

3. Develop Comprehensive Plan for Patient/Worker Protection, Reform

4. Urgent FDA Safety Reform of Installed  Devices, Surgeon General Report
OUTLINE OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN for Patient Protection and Reform

a)      Patient Protection

i)   Follow the lead of four states and add consumer labels with warnings to the product to discourage its use by those for whom it may be harmful and written consent; the FDA has indicated state consumer laws do not violate preemption.[1]

ii)   Fund and require Medicaid to pay for alternate filling materials, as Pennsylvania does, so people can chose what is best for their children’s and their own health needs.

iii)   Require dental plans to be cost neutral on fillings, and accountable to medical necessity and patient protection laws, and require them to use of biocompatible dental materials.

iv)    Encourage integrated health and dental insurance plans to ensure oral care supports physical and cognitive health, and reduce costly externalities down the road.

v)   Require and expedite inclusion of dental materials and records in electronic medical records for review and analysis by physicians, ACOs, health insurers, HiWay, MA Health Policy Commission.

b)      Research

i)        Set up a surveillance system and reporting system as there is none functioning at the federal or state level, and include as a priority for the Health Prevention Trust Fund.

ii)       Hold hearings and survey the public as to prevalence of people who had health impacts, survey biologic dental practices and functional medicine practices to quantify numbers served with dental mercury toxicity and assess training and capacity building needs, and conduct a learning tour to get their input on steps to expand training and capacity.

iii)     Include dental insurance data in the all-claims database and analyze connections between oral health, dental materials, chronic diseases, and health and long-term care costs.

iv)     Require organ donor programs operating in Massachusetts, and all autopsies performed with state funds, to measure bioburden of mercury in the brain, heart, kidneys and liver of its donors and report to state and federal authorities, along with proximate cause of death.

c)       Systems Reform and Building Capacity

i)        Update dental and medical practice and insurance standards to confidentially screen people for genetic glitches, and for toxic burden; and/or require biocompatibility tests for dental materials.

ii)       Tax dental amalgam to equalize the costs with alternative filling materials, and neutralize the bias of dental insurance plans that base what they will pay on amalgam fillings cost.

iii)     Reboot community hospitals that have overcapacity for acute care needs as centers for the training and practice of biologic dentistry, train all dentists in mercury safe removal protocols and special safety equipment. Explore launch of a state university Biologic Dental School.

iv)     Design a new a Mass Save Health program, similar to Mass Save, helping screen people for toxins in their bodies and homes, and fund treatment and remediation, as win-win.

d)      Occupational and Environmental Risks

i)        Require dentists and staff who work chairside be tested periodically for mercury exposure. Because standard blood and urine tests only measure circulating mercury, more sensitive tests are required to rule out false negatives for non-excretors.

ii)       Require dentists and staff get special training and equipment to protect patients, staff and dentists from mercury vapor during installation, polishing and amalgam removal.

iii)     Test mercury levels in all dental offices and dental schools, and inspect all dental offices and dental schools for proper use and functioning of amalgam separators.

iv)     Require removal of amalgam from all bodies before cremation, and require installation of adequate scrubbers on crematoria, to protect people from exposure via air, water and fish.

4. Ask Delegation for Urgent FDA Safety Reform of Installed Dental and Medical Devices
5. Petition for Surgeon General Report on Dental Amalgam and Mercury Health Risks

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[1] http://www.fda.gov/downloads/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/DentalProducts/DentalAmalgam/UCM174024.pdf pp. 71-72.