June 2006
Tooth-filling safety for kids
Some reassurance about dental amalgams, but more is needed
Dental fillings containing mercury--often referred to as "silver fillings"--are safe for 6- to 10-year-old kids, according
to two studies in the April 19, 2006, Journal of the American Medical Association. Together, the studies followed more than
1,000 children for five to seven years and concluded that the tooth fillings didn't have a statistically significant effect
on IQ scores or on measures of neurobehavior, such as memory, attention/concentration, and coordination.
However, children younger than 6 and fetuses are at greatest risk when it comes to any mercury exposure. They're smaller in size, and many aspects of their development, especially that of the brain, are threatened by the presence of mercury. Since no study of this kind to date has looked at the safety of mercury-containing amalgams for kids younger than 6 (or for the fetuses of pregnant moms), the safety for use in that group remains unknown.
The mercury found in amalgams--which also contain silver, tin, copper, and possibly other metallic elements--is inorganic, but it is absorbed into the body as easily as the organic mercury found in fish. However, the consumption of mercury-contaminated fish is the greatest source of human mercury exposure (see our Mercury in tuna report). Dental amalgams release some mercury vapor into the mouth, which is readily absorbed by the body.
A common alternative to dental amalgams, composite fillings, are made of plastic and glass. Their quality has improved over the years, but they're still more expensive than amalgam fillings because of the work involved in inserting them.
About 30 percent of the dental fillings placed today are amalgams, and most authorities feel they're not harmful to adults. But until more long-term, randomized control studies are conducted, it's not certain that mercury amalgams are safe for children younger than 6 and fetuses.
For more health and safety information for kids and families, see our free reports on mumps symptoms, antidepressants and pregnancy, organic baby food, and 8 products not to buy for kids.
However, children younger than 6 and fetuses are at greatest risk when it comes to any mercury exposure. They're smaller in size, and many aspects of their development, especially that of the brain, are threatened by the presence of mercury. Since no study of this kind to date has looked at the safety of mercury-containing amalgams for kids younger than 6 (or for the fetuses of pregnant moms), the safety for use in that group remains unknown.
The mercury found in amalgams--which also contain silver, tin, copper, and possibly other metallic elements--is inorganic, but it is absorbed into the body as easily as the organic mercury found in fish. However, the consumption of mercury-contaminated fish is the greatest source of human mercury exposure (see our Mercury in tuna report). Dental amalgams release some mercury vapor into the mouth, which is readily absorbed by the body.
A common alternative to dental amalgams, composite fillings, are made of plastic and glass. Their quality has improved over the years, but they're still more expensive than amalgam fillings because of the work involved in inserting them.
About 30 percent of the dental fillings placed today are amalgams, and most authorities feel they're not harmful to adults. But until more long-term, randomized control studies are conducted, it's not certain that mercury amalgams are safe for children younger than 6 and fetuses.
For more health and safety information for kids and families, see our free reports on mumps symptoms, antidepressants and pregnancy, organic baby food, and 8 products not to buy for kids.
