FDA Mercury Hearing Update

Anita Vasquez Tibau of Californians for Green Dentistry and Consumers for Dental Choice, reported today that the two-day FDA hearings were successful insofar that many solid and moving testimonies were heard by the FDA panel, and many people were actively demonstrating their disapproval of the use of mercury dental amalgam.

There has been no vote or recommendation at this point, but we are optimistic, and believe the FDA panel now has a more clear understanding of the deleterious health and environmental impact of this 170 year old practice, and will reverse their July 2009 ruling.

On another note, it seems the ADA and other agencies are concerned that there will be public outrage, touching off a flood of lawsuits to be filed against them for continuing this practice long after they publicly acknowledged that mercury is a toxic and hazardous substance.

I suppose that's one way of seeing the issue, but why should their fear stand in the way of the rest of us enjoying a future of optimized health and environmental standards?

What if people had their mercury amalgams removed with the understanding that mercury amalgam fillings were the best technology dentists had 'back in the day', and go forward with the use of biocompatible resin fillings? And then because the cost of materials is negligible (if any), insurance companies will pay for biocompatible fillings as they currently pay for mercury fillings. (The extra "cost" involved is in chair time...it takes twice as long to cure a resin filling than a mercury filling.)

If that's what it takes to get a ban on the use of mercury, I'm on board. Now, to get rid of those hideous mercury-filled squiggle light bulbs which just about require a hazmat team for clean up if broken.....

OC