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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. _ It had been a long time since I heard a lecture on the evils of "silver" fillings for teeth.
Personally, I had always been more fascinated by the pervasive gum disorder known as periodontal disease and its now more accepted links to cardiovascular problems.
Even recent research in the journal, Circulation, has reported that older adults who have high concentrations of periodontal-disease-causing bacteria in their mouths tend to have thicker carotid arteries, a strong predictor of stroke and heart attack.
Although this isn't proof that the one causes the other, many more scientific studies are showing an association.
So when I heard a West Palm Beach dentist, Dr. James Medlock, lecturing on this link at a seminar sponsored by the Wellness Research Foundation of Wellington, I almost turned him off. That is, until he launched into a related topic, mercury fillings, and their possible relationship to periodontal disease, heart disease, Alzheimer's and autism.
The so-called silver fillings we see in our mouths are actually amalgam, a mixture of metals such as silver, copper, tin and mercury that chemically binds these components into a hard substance.
Depending on your point of view, the amalgam is a "stable, safe substance that has been used for more than 150 years to help millions of Americans," says the Florida Dental Association.
Or, an unstable substance that may cause chronic, low-dose poisoning that may contribute to Alzheimer's, autism, cardiovascular and periodontal disease, according to Medlock and the Holistic Dental Association.
Medlock is a member of this Colorado-based national group whose members practice "complementary/alternative dentistry" that spells quackery to some.
Pointing the finger at mercury fillings as the demon link to all these diseases was hard to consider seriously until I picked up that day's newspaper and saw reports from the 2005 Biology Conference in San Diego. The news suggested autistic children had abnormally low levels of a protective antioxidant, glutathione, that might make them less able to detoxify heavy metals like mercury in the body.
The headline? "Possible cause of autism is identified."
Several states are looking seriously at the subject.
Maine's legislature is reviewing bills to ban the use of dental fillings that contain mercury, and Arizona, California, Maine and New Hampshire require patients receiving mercury fillings to be informed of the possible risks.
And states, including Florida, have rules or suggested methods for mercury/amalgam disposal, dental offices included, to protect the environment.
Although Medford clearly stated that, "My profession (the ADA) and I disagree," this graduate of the University of Missouri School of Dentistry raised some credible questions.
Even so, I don't think I'll run out and get my fillings removed. But I will put lemon in my water, something he suggested could help the body fight excess calcium deposits on teeth and in arterial plaque.
Carolyn Susman writes for the Palm Beach Post. E-mail: carolyn_susman@pbpost.com
Cox News Service
