Laura
Henze Russell, Principal,
Hidden
River Health Challenge
December
10, 2012
I
am Laura Henze Russell, founder of Hidden River Health Challenge, a mercury
poisoned survivor working to improve our health and reduce chronic diseases by
promoting mercury free dentistry and supportive health care. We work for health
education, better dental insurance plans, and rebooting health and dental
systems through education, advocacy, and moving people and markets. We are reaching out to develop a
collaborative agenda for change and to organize innovative research challenges
and demonstrations to reduce health disparities.
For
20 years I had chronic pain, fatigue, sleep, memory and balance problems that
were diagnosed as fibromyalgia. Between March 2011 and March 2012, I had a year
of acute escalating health problems that a dozen specialists could not
diagnose. I gave up hope. Then, by the grace of God, one of my doctors heard a
presentation at a conference that symptoms like mine could be caused by a
toxicity reaction to dental materials. Small amounts of mercury vapor escape
from fillings with heat and abrasion. People with certain gene types do not
clear mercury well, so develop health problems over time. I was able to get
treated and get healthy again by removing the amalgam and following a
detoxification protocol.
There
are two new breaking studies released in September and October 2012:
1. James Woods and team at U of Washington
retracted earlier findings of amalgam safety in children and found that boys of
a certain gene type have significant neurobehavioral deficits and kidney
damage.
2. Thomas Duplinsky of Yale Medical School
found that dentists compared to matched controls have significantly higher
prescription use in neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular and respiratory
disease.
This
is new information and I would like to help other people in Massachusetts who
have chronic illnesses, health problems, premature aging, memory deficits, mood
swings or other health problems due to the hidden river of mercury in our
bodies learn about this risk and regain health.
I
have been working as a volunteer for 9 months to research mercury dental
amalgam toxicity in the U.S. I attended
the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology Conference in MN, the
U.S. CDC Health Statistics Conference in DC, and a symposium in CT, and am in
contact with biologic dentists, scientific researchers, injured patients and
advocates across the U.S.
I
am working with legislators and committee chairs at the State House to develop
bills and budget items for the upcoming session, and have begun discussions
with national funders on demonstration projects, and ask DPH and EOHHS to be a
leader and partner in these efforts.
Action
Agenda on Mercury Amalgam Illness
1. Determine the Scope of the Problem of
Dental Mercury Poisoning and Public Awareness
- Hold public hearings around the state to
get input from injured patients and their family members, and health and dental
professionals.
- Set up a patient registry and reporting
mechanism at the Betsy Lehman Center and DPH Center for Health Information and
Analysis.
- Call for FDA Adverse Events Form 3500
Reporting to be mandatory by dentists and doctors for adverse reactions to
dental materials and oral medical devices.
- Develop pamphlets for patients, doctors,
dentists, nurses and other health professionals, and targeting high risk groups
which include older adults, military and veterans, Native Americans, and
low-income people. Why the military? High usage, and greater at risk of heat
and abrasion. For example, soldiers face greater risk of mercury off gassing
through abrasion of teeth from traveling on dirt roads and combat related
injuries, as well as desert heat.
- Utilize
the MA Prevention and Wellness Trust to investigate and educate to mitigate
health disparities from amalgam toxicity, with a special focus on higher risk
populations who have a higher incidence and cumulative body burden of mercury
amalgam.
2.
Specific Informed Consent and Health
Warnings
- Reform MA Dental Code sections 515 and
517 to provide for specific informed consent for dental fillings, and reporting
for morbidity, not just mortality, for dental procedures.
- Include warnings to patients similar
that dentists get from manufacturers under FDA’s Class II Special Controls
Guidance Document for Mercury and Dental Amalgam.
- Develop an informational brochure for
patients as Connecticut did by executive action.
- Include information on materials and
potential side effects, similar to prescription drugs.
- Include recommendations for patch testing,
as required by FDA for hair color products.
- Include recommendations for
biocompatibility blood tests for dental materials.
3.
Dental Insurance Reform
- Require dental plans be cost-neutral for
alternatives to amalgam outside of the "smile area".
- Require dental plans to cover
remediation when medically necessary.
- Flexible spending account for dental work
as a pre-tax alternative to dental insurance.
A Blue Ribbon Commission can sink
its teeth into these issues and consider how health care and dental insurance
systems and medical and dental records can be better integrated to promote
health and reduce chronic diseases.
· Examine ways to update screening
standards, such as periodic heavy metals and toxics screens, covering provoked urine
testing to determine body burden, screenings before pregnancy and behavioral
health referrals, and for concussion patients and returning soldiers.
· Promote biologic dentistry, which
integrates dentistry and health based on evidence-based research, similar to
ways to promote clean and green energy and energy conservation industries.
· End the FDA logjam on dental amalgam
by calling on the President and Congress to direct FDA to follow the
recommendations of its Scientific Advisory Panels in 2006 and 2010 to restrict
its use in young children, pregnant women, and people with a known “allergy” to
mercury.
We can save money and bend the cost
curve down by stopping poisoning people who lose the gene lottery, and pay a
heavy price as they age. This will have spinoff effects
that can also help reduce costs of long term care, unemployment,
lost tax revenues, and special education. Thank you.
