50 percent of us at risk of brain damage from mercury fillings
It’s a kick in the teeth that could be leaving millions of us with brain damage.
For years groups like the American Dental Association — and even our government — have worked to convince us that the mercury amalgam (or silver) fillings in our mouths are as safe as mother’s milk.
They’ve brushed aside science and even lied to our faces, even though they know that mercury is one of the most toxic substances on the planet.
But now University of Washington scientists are warning that as many as half of us are at much greater risk from mercury fillings than we’ve ever been told.
And that risk can include a lifetime of brain damage that can’t be reversed.
Back in the mid-1800s, the American Society of Dental Surgeons made its members sign a pledge to never put mercury in a patient’s mouth.
Can you believe it? This was a time when doctors were using leeches and making you bite on a bullet during surgery — and they wouldn’t touch mercury.
But since that time, the ADA and the politicians they lobby have fought tooth and nail to force mercury fillings on all of us.
In fact, when the University of Washington did a study on mercury amalgam fillings and Portuguese children, the ADA and the National Institutes of Health twisted the results to declare the fillings safe.
The folks at the NIH even put out a press release! Whose side are they on anyway?
But there was only one problem — the UW researchers knew it was all nonsense.
They disagreed so strongly with the ADA and NIH that they went back and took another look at the data on their own — and they arrived at a far different conclusion.
They found that many of the kids who had been given mercury fillings actually performed significantly worse on tests of memory, concentration and other neurological activities than those who were given mercury-free treatments.
But the researchers didn’t stop there. They wanted to understand exactly what makes these fillings so terribly dangerous for some of us.
And they discovered the children who had trouble with those brain tests had a type of genetic glitch called “polymorphisms.” That makes them more susceptible to the effects of mercury inhalation. (Mercury vapors from amalgam fillings are released and inhaled every time you chew on them or even grind your teeth).
And, unfortunately, this isn’t one of these genetic glitches that’s a one-in-a-million occurrence, either.
One of the toxicologists at UW said that up to 50 percent of us can have it. And if you’re one of them, you face a lifetime risk of neurological damage from amalgams, according to Diana Echeverria, a scientist who worked on the study.
That means that if you agree to get mercury amalgam fillings, your chances of developing serious, permanent brain damage could come down to a flip of a coin.
I don’t know about you, but that’s not a risk I’m willing to take.
The researchers also found that men and boys who have polymorphisms are even more susceptible to brain damage from amalgam fillings.
Now you’d think that with so many of us at risk, our government would get off its duff. But it looks like they’re more interested in making the science behind these fillings go away.
I told you in July how several years ago FDA scientists issued a warning to dentists about the dangers of mercury fillings, only to have it secretly killed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
And that same agency has forbid FDA scientists from even publishing it!
We’ve spent enough time waiting for the Feds to act. It’s time to take matters into our own hands.
If you’re thinking of having your amalgams removed, use a dentist who has experience taking them out safely.
Be sure he doesn’t just drill them out — which can send the mercury right into your bloodstream — and uses a dental dam that will stop you from swallowing it.
And also demand that any new or replacement fillings are the newer, mercury-free composites. They aren’t toxic time bombs and have come way down in price over the years — and if you have dental insurance, they should be covered.
Sources:
“Dental group defends mercury fillings amid mounting evidence of risks” Greg Gordon, January 7, 2016, McClatchy DC, citizens.org
