Mercury Released By Dental Amalgam Fillings Are Not High Enough To Cause Harm, FDA Finds

I'm so happy the FDA has deemed dental fillings safe...phew!

Mercury Released By Dental Amalgam Fillings Are Not High Enough To Cause Harm, FDA Finds

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a final regulation classifying dental amalgam and its component parts – elemental mercury and a powder alloy—used in dental fillings. While elemental mercury has been associated with adverse health effects at high exposures, the levels released by dental amalgam fillings are not high enough to cause harm in patient

The Study:

Beginning in 1997 and continuing for seven years, the authors studied 507 Portuguese children aged 8 through 12 years who received either amalgam or resin-based composite fillings.

The Observations:

They conducted routine clinical neurological examinations to assess two types of neurological signs: hard (indicating damage to specific neural structures) and soft (subtle signs of central nervous system dysfunction that likely point to immature sensory-motor skills rather than to any structural damage in the brain). The researchers also evaluated the children for presence of tremor.

The Resuts:

After seven years, the two groups of children did not differ in terms of the presence or absence of hard signs or tremor. They also didn't differ in terms of the presence or absence or severity of soft signs at any point. Also, as expected in healthy children, the severity of any neurological soft signs diminished as the children aged.

Just incase you are still worried, it's okay, don't worry. Here it is from the horses mouth:


About Dental Amalgam Fillings

FDA has reviewed the best available scientific evidence to determine whether the low levels of mercury vapor associated with dental amalgam fillings are a cause for concern. Based on this evidence, FDA considers dental amalgam fillings safe for adults and children ages 6 and above. The amount of mercury measured in the bodies of people with dental amalgam fillings is well below levels associated with adverse health effects. Even in adults and children ages 6 and above who have fifteen or more amalgam surfaces, mercury exposure due to dental amalgam fillings has been found to be far below the lowest levels associated with harm. Clinical studies in adults and children ages 6 and above have also found no link between dental amalgam fillings and health problems.

I might save all this, and in fifty years when it all goes balls up, I'll show this to them!