Dentists battle over what is considered safe regarding mercury amalgam fillings. A dentist leading the fight against the fillings says “the American Dental Association has used ‘anecdotal’ evidence to determine policy for
100 years.”
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
This newspaper’s article last month on mercury amalgam fillings and their possible dangers as described by local dentist Dr. James has generated a great deal of discussion on The Malibu Times’ Web site. Many people claiming to be knowledgeable about the subject have sided with Rota, while others have said his evidence is anecdotal and not necessarily a sign of a real problem.
Dr. Darrell Pruitt, a dentist who practices in Ft. Worth, Texas, has offered several comments on the Web site in opposition to Rota. In a telephone interview, he said there are benefits and disadvantages to amalgam as well as composite fillings (which are a mixture of glass or quartz filler in a resin that looks more natural).
“I offer my patients both,” Pruitt said. “Amalgams are stronger, last longer and can withstand the force of chewing. Composites look better. Scientific articles blur my vision on both sides. But I go with common sense, and all studies say amalgams are safe. A repeatable problem would have shown up after all these years and nobody has substantively associated amalgams with anything.”
Dr. Thomas Hirsch, who opened his practice in Malibu more than 37 years ago and taught at USC for 10 years, said he hasn’t used amalgam fillings for the past 30 years. Hirsch said he stopped using them when a homeopathic doctor began referring patients with compromised health issues to him, with specific instructions to replace the mercury fillings with composite.
“Out of those 200 or so patients referred to me, I would say 75 percent of them reported feeling significantly better after their mercury fillings were removed,” Hirsch said. “Their symptoms included chronic fatigue, suicidal thoughts and just being sick all the time.”
He continued, “That being said, it’s anecdotal. I don’t know scientifically if they felt better because the fillings were gone or if it was a placebo affect.”
Hirsch said he only uses composites now because “they look better” and “they don’t crack teeth, requiring expensive crowns.” Hirsch said mercury fillings can absorb moisture and expand with time, causing teeth to crack.
Elizabeth Moreno, spokesperson for the Ocean Adventure Pediatric Dentists Group in Agoura, said, “We haven’t used mercury fillings at all since we opened in 2002. But I think it is more for aesthetic reasons than health concerns.”
Dr. Paul Austin, a pediatric orthodontist in Santa Monica who has practiced pediatric dentistry in the past, said “there has been enough anecdotal evidence of problems with mercury fillings to call them into question.” But he added, “I think that, generally, the mercury in amalgam fillings is well below the level considered toxic.”
Austin said controlled studies on mercury in amalgam fillings are difficult to follow because of the complexity involved in measuring toxicity over time. “People are more worried about other health issues, like cancer,” he said. “So dentistry doesn’t get a lot of research funding.”
However, Rota stands by his assertion that the body of evidence produced by relatively recent diagnostic tools proves the toxicity of mercury. He advocates for removal of amalgam fillings and replacing them with composites.
“The ADA (American Dental Association) has used ‘anecdotal’ evidence to determine policy for 100 years and there are volumes of anecdotal evidence on the toxicity of mercury and its health effects,” Rota said. “With mercury fillings, it is difficult to devise an effective study for scientific standards because you would have to start by deliberately putting mercury into people’s bodies as a control group. But you can’t implant poison into healthy people.”
With regard to the FDA’s new agreement to classify mercury amalgam fillings as a Class 2 device and possibly a Class 3 device under further inspection (on a scale of one to three, with three being the highest risk), Rota said he believes the agency is responding to new studies done in Europe showing that detection of mercury in blood can be measured.
“The FDA doesn’t yet recognize DMPS (Dimercaptopropane Sulfonate, a chelating agent that can draw mercury and other metals out of the body) as a diagnostic tool, but it’s been used in Europe for years,” Rota said. “I understand the pro-amalgam crowd. It’s hard to suddenly accept that something you have claimed is safe for years can actually make you sick.”
Rota said change in FDA policy on this issue will come slowly.
“If you pull the plug on mercury, it means you have to examine pesticides and all the other toxic stuff we put into the environment,” he said. “This is all stuff put out by big corporations, so that won’t change without a fight.”