January 7, 2007

Fear: Mercury vapor from dental fillings poisons the body.
Fact: Wrong. "Every health policy organization from the World Health Organization to the [U.S.] National Institutes of Health has gone on record saying amalgam is safe," says mercury fillings expert J. Rodway Mackert Jr., D.M.D., Ph.D., of the Medical College of Georgia's School of Dentistry. Some mercury vapor escapes from dental fillings with chewing or tooth brushing, but it's too little to pose any hazard. Compared with the 5 to 6 micrograms of mercury we get from our diet every day (including mercury in fish), Mackert says, a person with seven silver amalgam fillings gets only about1 microgram per day from his fillings.
Personal take: [not mine, the following was written in the article] Mackert has no plans to remove his silver amalgam fillings.
Safety tip: Smile, and don't worry about the fillings in your mouth.

http://www.usaweekend.com/07_issues/070107/070107safe.html

Contacts
General queries and Letters to the Editor
http://www.usaweekend.com/mail/ask_all.html#general
Webmaster: Broken links or comments

Phone & postal addresses
Headquarters & Editorial Offices
USA WEEKEND
7950 Jones Branch Drive.
McLean, VA 22107
800-487-2956
fax: 703-854-2122

Ask a question or respond to a columnist
HealthSmart, Tedd Mitchell M.D.

http://www.usaweekend.com/mail/ask_all.html#health
All mail is read, but columnists cannot respond to each query because of the volume of mail received. You may be contacted if your question is selected for print.