Mercury Fillings
Under a lot of pressure from various groups, the FDA, in December, 2010, convened a scientific panel to again hold hearings about the safety of mercury fillings. After two days of listening to both sides of the issue and reading position papers, the panel recommended that the FDA not allow the placement of mercury fillings in children, in pregnant women, and in those who are hypersensitive to mercury. In essence, the panel said that mercury fillings are not safe for everyone, and that the FDA’s risk assessments were not adequate to protect the young, the unborn, and those who are hypersensitive.
The panel also strongly recommended that the FDA provide consumers with labeling which contains clear warnings about the risks associated with mercury fillings. Now we are waiting to see what the FDA will do after the ADA “twists their arm!”
Fluoride
The optimal amount of fluoride in drinking water, as recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), has been .7 – 1.2 ppm (parts per million), with a maximum allowed amount of 4 ppm.
Because fluorosis (the white and brown spots in enamel caused by fluoride) is becoming more and more prevalent, in early January, the CDC changed their position and now has set the optimal level for fluoride in drinking water at .7ppm.
The reason for this change is that the rate of fluorosis has continued to increase over the years; it is now affecting 41% of children 12-15 years old! It is, however, absurd to think that excess fluoride affects only the formation of enamel. The CDC has failed to address the systemic effects of fluoride like bone fractures, and arthritis, etc.
A recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives (which is a publication of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) found that serum fluoride correlates with fluoride in drinking water. They found that the higher the serum number, the lower the IQ of the subjects in the study. (I wish they would read their own research!)
Will reducing the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water lower the rate of fluorosis? I doubt it. Infants and children will still be receiving too much of the poisonous fluoride during the years of tooth development. Remember, infants are being fed formula reconstituted with fluoridated water. They are, therefore, imbibing a dose of fluoride way over that which is considered safe for their body weight. The government agencies in charge of fluoridating our water confuse or ignore the concepts of concentration and dose. They discuss how much better a concentration .7 ppm will be, but they do not address the dose. Let us assume, for example, that there is a concentration of 1 ppm of fluoride in water. If you were to drink 1 quart of this water per day, that would equal an intake of 1 mg of fluoride. When prescribing drugs, a dose is figured in mg/body weight. Safe levels of fluoride should be calculated in the same manner.
So, if you want to use fluoride as a drug to prevent tooth decay, then it should be given in mg/body weight. An infant weighing 8.8 pounds equals a weight of 4 kg. The EPA’s upper tolerable level of intake of fluoride is .06 mg/kg. This means a 4 kg baby should take in a dose not greater than .24 mg. So we see that an 8.8 pound formula-fed baby will consume about 4 times the amount of fluoride considered safe by the EPA.
And what about the cumulative dose? Fluoride is everywhere – in pesticides, toothpastes, reconstituted juices, and sodas. Even many of our drugs today are fluoride-based, e.g., Cipro®, Lipitor ®, Prozac®, Celebrex®, and Diflucan®. There are reports of patients becoming very ill from fluoride-based drugs.
I have seen advertisements on television by lawyers telling people to call their office if they have been taking Levaquin® and have suffered ligament damage. One of the side effects of fluoride is ligament damage.
We need to get fluoride out of our water!
Kudos to Queens, NY, Councilman, Peter Vallone, who is introducing a bill to ban fluoride in NYC drinking water. This is a brave, bold move by Councilman Vallone. We should all contact his office to show our support.
On a happier note….Congratulations to the EPA on its decision to phase out the use of sulfuryl fluoride (SFL). Until now, large amounts of the residues of this pesticide have been allowed to remain on our food. When SFL enters the body, it breaks down to fluoride, with all its negative ramifications. Below are some examples of the levels of SFL residues which have been allowed on our food (in ppm).
Herbs and spices 70 ppm, coffee 15 ppm, oat flour 75 ppm, wheat germ 130 ppm, wheat flour 125 ppm, all types of beans 70 ppm.
Slowly, we make progress. As I have said time and time again, I find toxins to be the single most significant contributing factor to ill health. It is a shame we have to battle our own government to protect us.
© 2011, Mark A. Breiner, DDS
The information presented is for educational purposes only. You should consult a qualified health practitioner for diagnosis and treatment.