Drilling for Dollars

What's behind the scare surrounding the imagined health hazards of mercury fillings?

American Dental Association Home Page   American Dental Association Facts About Mercury Amalgam   American Council on Science and Health, Inc.   National Council Against Health Fraud   Dr. Stephen Barrett's Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, & Intelligent Decision-making

A trip to the dentist is not most people's idea of a good time, so why are some people voluntarily submitting to the dentist's drill? Not to fill a cavity, but to have their existing fillings removed. The reason may be a scare surrounding the imagined health hazards of mercury fillings. The majority of dentists still use so-called silver amalgam, which is about half mercury. Dentists have been using mercury amalgam for almost 150 years because it makes a strong, inexpensive, and long-lasting filling. But some patients have paid dentists anywhere from a couple of hundred to tens of thousands of dollars to have them removed. They are convinced the mercury in the fillings is toxic and could make them sick. In some cases, the unsubstantiated reports claim to cure everything from multiple sclerosis to fatigue to prostate problems. But the facts about mercury fillings do not substantiate cause for removal. Major health organizations have investigated this issue, and while they continue to search for any evidence of possible health hazard, they have found none. The American Dental Association supports the use of the mercury amalgam and devotes an entire section to the subject on the their website. The ADA's Principles of Ethics and Code of Conduct states, "Removal of amalgam restorations from the non-allergic patient for the alleged purpose of removing toxic substances from the body, when such treatment is performed solely at the recommendation or suggestion of the dentist, is improper and unethical." The U.S. Public Health Service declared that "there are no data to compel a change in the current use of dental amalgam." In August 1996, the Canadian Health Department also released a statement saying, "Current evidence does not indicate that dental amalgam is causing illness in the general population." They issued guidelines to all Canadian dentists instructing them that removal of existing sound amalgam fillings is not justified. In addition, Dateline contacted every accredited dental school in the United States to see. All 53 schools said they teach dental students to use mercury amalgams. Not a single one recommends removing them. All say, except for rare allergic reactions, there is no known danger from them. Some experts warn that if your dentist suggests removing sound fillings for the sole purpose of ridding your mouth of mercury, you may want to contact a different health care provider. Dr. Stephen Barrett, runs Quackwatch.com, a website designed to protect health consumers from health fraud. "People naturally trust their health care providers," he says. "If your dentist tells you the fillings are dangerous or wants to sell you dietary supplements change your dentist. It is a sign of very poor judgement." Barrett says Quackwatch plans to expand its mission to include evaluating health websites for accuracy. "We want to recruit physicians, an army, so to speak," he says, "to spend one hour a week reviewing health related sites with an idea of creating a list of good sites that give reliable information." What You Need to Know to Get Good Dental Care: The American Council on Science and Health, a non-profit consumer organization, recommends following a few important guidelines to insure you get quality dental care. In the council's report, "Is It Time to Look for Another Dentist?" by John Dodes, D.D.S and Marvin Schissel, D.D.S., they offer some common tip-offs to dental wrongdoing. Many dentists try to compensate for low managed-care fees by overreporting treatments on insurance forms. And some dentists have turned to a surefire, age-old moneymaker-quackery. The main euphemism for dental quackery is "holistic dentistry." So-called holistic dentists may: allegedly adjust jaw joints, claiming that their misalignment causes numerous disorders; remove sound silver fillings, purportedly to resolve medical problems; provide dubious nutrition counseling and sell overpriced, unnecessary, and possibly harmful dietary supplements; and use unscientific methods such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, auriculotherapy, CranioSacral Therapy, homeopathy, iridology, "muscle testing," and reflexology. Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, arthritis, sexual problems, "immune system deficiency," depression, headache, and malaise are among the many conditions "holistic dentists" purportedly treat. None of the aforementioned health problems are within the scope of scientific dentistry. The most important ingredient of quality dental service is time. Beware if your dentist rushes through his work or shuttles from room to room, or if his waiting room teems with patients coming and going. If, over the years, dental problems are common despite good oral hygiene and good nutrition-if, for example, fillings fall out, bridges fail, toothaches persist, and teeth are lost-bad dental "care" is probably to blame. When the treatment your dentist proposes is more expensive than you expected-the crowning of many teeth, for example, or extensive gum surgery-request an explanation. A "second opinion," perhaps from a dental school, may help. Asking for a written, signed treatment plan may also help. Most quacks and incompetents would probably balk at such a request. If your dentist proposes to treat a medical (nondental) condition, write him off. If he proposes to do so with one of the unscientific methods mentioned above, leave the office at once and never return. Read insurance forms carefully before you sign them. Don't permit dentists to misrepresent work. And don't sign the form before the dentist has completed the treatment.