Sometimes, you can hear a lot by listening to what’s not being said. Consider last month’s CDC report about a peculiar cluster of cases of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This chronic lung disease is characterized by extensive scarring of the lung tissue and gradually deteriorating lung function. Of the nine patients in the cluster, all […]
mercury-free dentistry
Amalgam Separators: No Longer Optional
We ended 2016 with some great news from the EU – their partial ban of mercury amalgam. So how about we start 2017 with some great news from right here in the US? In December, the EPA finalized its amalgam separator rule. It goes into effect 30 days after it gets published in the Federal […]
Lack of Informed Consent Is the Real Ripoff
We’ve all seen those articles that promise to tell you all about how your dentist might be “ripping you off.” Most of them include a more or less dire warning against dentists who recommend getting your mercury amalgam “silver” fillings replaced. It’s a standard topic point, courtesy of the ADA and dentists who aren’t yet […]
Demand Better. Demand Safe. Demand Mercury-Free Dentistry!
Mercury has no business in the human mouth. So it has no business in dentistry, either. Still, there are dentists who persist in using this known neurotoxin to restore teeth. Still, the ADA and FDA insist against science that mercury amalgam fillings are “safe.” Still, insurance companies largely refuse to pay for biocompatible composite (white) […]
Informed Consent Can Be Lacking When It Comes to Mercury in Your Dental Work
Can your zip code determine your dental choices? According to Charlie Brown of Consumers for Dental Choice, the answer is a resounding yes. Especially if you live in Connecticut. Last week, Charlie stood on the steps of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to bring attention to the fact that low income Medicaid […]
It’s No Myth: Dental Mercury Is a Problem
Consider a few sentences: Earth is a planet. Earth is in the Milky Way. Earth is the center of our solar system. Earth is round. For just a fraction of a second, that third sentence may have sounded plausible – even though it’s completely wrong. Surround a lie with fact, and it can seem just […]
Choosing to Be Mercury-Free
Even though good, nontoxic alternatives are available, dental students are still taught that “silver” mercury amalgam fillings are the “standard of care” – just as they were back in the 1970s when Dr. Glaros first began practicing dentistry. And yes, once upon a time, he placed them, too. What’s more, he chose a high-copper amalgam […]
Mercury Amalgam News Roundup
Last fall, we cheered the EPA’s proposed amalgam separator rule. The ADA’s response, on the other hand, was weirdly guarded. You’d think they’d be all for a rule “based largely,” they said, “on the Association’s best management practices, including the use of amalgam separators.” Heck, they even “consulted with the EPA as it developed the […]