Controversy Chemistry Effects Risks Future


Welcome to The Pregnant Dentist, a place for anyone curious, confused, or angry about the dental amalgam controversy and the risks of mercury poisoning. Our site focuses on female dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists because they and their babies are the most vulnerable to mercury poisoning due to the omnipresence of amalgam in the dental office and the devastating effects of mercury on the developing embryo. However, male dentists, spouses of dentists, relatives, researchers, patients considering having their amalgams removed, and anyone else concerned with this issue is welcome here!

Be sure to visit our forum and leave a message!

spacerWhat's the controversy?

Dental amalgams contain mercury. No one disputes that mercury is a powerful neurotoxin, and the FDA acknowledges that dental amalgams leak this toxin into the body for as long as they are installed.

The controversy rests on how much elemental mercury the body can handle.

But haven't amalgams been used for 150 years? Can we really have been wrong about their safety for so long? The answer is that there were many dentists and experts who weren't wrong, 150 years ago. Click below to begin reading the story of the ADA's responsibility in promoting the amalgam from the beginning and help us find out the truth.

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spacerIsn't mercury "bonded" in an amalgam?

Some pro-amalgam sites would have you believe that the dental amalgam is stable and inert. The FDA is not as deceptive, but they do assert that the mercury vapor continuously released by the amalgam doesn't do anyone any harm. Moreover, this vapor is supposed to have nothing to do with methylmercury, the kind of mercury found in fish. Click below to find out more about these issues, and the basic chemistry involved in the leaching of mercury into the body by the amalgam.

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spacerHow does mercury affect human health?

Mercury is one of the most toxic substances we know of. Its several unique properties make it both highly penetrative in organic tissues and very difficult to get rid of.

Both elemental mercury and methylmercury attack the central nervous system, the brain, the kidneys, the liver, the endocrine glands, and the immune system. Dentists and dental staff are at a particularly high risk, and as a group, show higher rates of chronic disease in several of these areas--including mood disorders and cognitive impairment.

Click below to find out more about this powerful toxin and how it affects the human body.

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spacerWhat are the risks to the unborn?

Mercury poses a serious threat to the developing fetus, but the growing brain is particularly at risk. There is growing evidence of a correlation between the number of maternal amalgams, and the amount of mercury in the bodies of newborns. But even without personal amalgams, many women in the dental profession are exposed to even higher levels of mercury-in the form of ambient mercury vapor.

Click below to learn about the science behind our claims, and join the discussion.

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spacerWhat can we do?

Mercury-free dentistry already exists and thrives. Speaking out about mercury poisoning in the dental profession and the history of denial within the ADA may seem like a daunting task, but we have to begin somewhere. We welcome you to use our anonymous forum as a starting point.

Click below to learn more about the future of dentistry and the hopes we have about an eventual change.

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