I thought I posted this a while ago, but maybe I didn't since I cannot find it. Glad to hear that our government is so trustworthy....
WSJ.com - Health Advisers Reject Report On Safety of Mercury Fillings Government health advisers rejected a federal report that concluded dental fillings used by millions of patients are safe, saying further study of the mercury-laden amalgam is needed.A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers did not declare the so-called “silver fillings” unsafe. But in a 13-7 vote Thursday, the advisers said the federal report didn't objectively and clearly present the current state of knowledge about the fillings.
In a second 13-7 vote, the panelists said the report's conclusions about safety weren't reasonable.
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But panelists said remaining uncertainties about the risk of so-called silver fillings demanded further study. In particular, research is needed on the effect of mercury-laden fillings on children and the fetuses of pregnant women with fillings.“There are too many things we don't know, too many things that were excluded,” said Michael Aschner, a professor of pediatrics and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University and a panel consultant. He cast two “no” votes.
Panelists also said more study was needed on whether mercury fillings give off more vapors when they're being placed or removed.
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With amalgam fillings, mercury vapor is released when patients chew and brush their teeth. Significant levels of mercury exposure can cause permanent damage to the brain and kidneys. Fetuses and children are especially sensitive to its harmful effects.
update:
comments closed due to spam rats. If you want to comment, email me, and I'll include it....
Your closing of the article says it all, ..."significant amounts..."
Have you noticed that most old tech needs to be replaced by newer tech for some reason or other?
I would think there are many other factors in things we do that impact our lives or those of fetuses. Really. Try alcohol and cigarettes.
If mercury is not a problem, why does our insist upon parsing science with legalisms? To me, this suggests that they think it is a problem, but they do not want to cause panic because they've ignored or poo-poohed the possibility for decades. Just like DDT, just like perchlorate, etc etc., ad naseum.