No harm to children's he alth from amalgam
Amalgam fillings do not cause any neurological or physical he alth problems in children, according to a study by American scientists.
Between 1997 and 2005, David Bellinger and his colleagues at the Boston Children's Hospital examined 534 children aged 6 to 15 whose teeth affected by caries had been treated with amalgam or other fillings. The doctors could not find any statistically relevant differences in the he alth status of the children.
At the follow-up examinations five years after the dental treatments, none of the children with amalgam fillings suffered from neurological disorders such as suddenly decreased IQ, poor memory or mood swings. Although the mercury concentration in their urine was higher than in children without amalgam in their mouths, the researchers did not find any impairment of kidney function in any of the small patients.
Dentists don't need to ban amalgam from their treatment rooms, according to the scientists. Since the traditional filling material contains 40 to 50 percent pure mercury and a small amount of it evaporates from the seals and spreads throughout the body, many warn of the he alth risks caused by this neurotoxin.
