Question:
American Dental Association Sued Over Mercury in Fillings ?
Answer:
A coalition of public interest groups sued the American Dental Association
and the California Dental Association on June 12, 2001, claiming they have
misled the public about the dangers of mercury in tooth fillings.
The lawsuits, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, are the latest salvo in a
growing battle over mercury fillings, which opponents say can poison the
body with leaking vapors possibly linked to Alzheimer's disease and other
neurological problems, especially in children and unborn babies.
The dental associations insist that mercury is safe when mixed with other
metals and implanted in teeth and that studies have failed to demonstrate
that the low level vapors are dangerous.
The lawsuits allege violations of California's business and professions code
and charge that the ADA and the CDA have issued rules preventing dentists
from discussing the dangers of mercury with patients.
"The worst thing they are doing is hiding the presence of mercury in
fillings -- which they call silver amalgam -- and trying to keep dentists
from saying the 'M' word and keep consumers from hearing the 'M' word,''
plaintiffs' attorney Charles Brown said. "These fillings are 50 percent
mercury.''
Brown filed the lawsuits on behalf of Kids Against Pollution, Dental Amalgam
Mercury Syndrome Inc., American Academy of Biological Dentistry and a group
of patients who believe that mercury in fillings has made them ill.
"We consider it to be safe and the science certainly indicates that it is,''
CDA explaining the risks of any procedure to patients.
Fred Peterson, a spokesman for the ADA, said he could not discuss the
lawsuit but issued a prepared statement from the organization on tooth
fillings.
"Dental amalgam (silver filling) is considered a safe, affordable and
durable material that has been used to restore the teeth of more than 100
million Americans,'' the statement said. ``It contains a mixture of metals
such as silver, copper and tin in addition to mercury which chemically binds
these components into a hard, stable and safe substance.''
The plaintiffs seek civil penalties and ask the court to stop the ADA and
the CDA from putting out "false, misleading and inaccurate information''
about fillings and stop referring to them as "silver'' when they have equal
parts mercury.
The National Institutes of Health are conducting clinical trials into the
effects of mercury fillings in children. Other studies on mercury in
fillings have been inconclusive.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in federal court in Maryland by dentists
and patients, while state legislatures in New York and Maine are considering
bills that would require dentists to disclose to patients the makeup of
their fillings.
While it might be good to see all the evidence properly aired, I think even
mha might do a better job with such scientific questions than the average
court of law. At least some of us on both sides are trying to get at the
truth, whereas the legal system is totally geared to advocacy of the
respective client's points of view.
Would this be a jury trial? That might render it almost useless,
science-wise, although judges don't necessarily perform much better.
If the ADA prevails in this case, it will be food for the conspiracy
clowns. "The big bad ADA and its co-conspirators have beat up the poor
innocent victims of amalgam poisoning again. They lie and then they steal
our good health away from us", they will mewl. "The ADA and the AMA have
the court systems in their pocket. There is no justice for our ailing
masses. Our children will suffer a fate worse than death! They must be
stopped from killing and maiming us and our loved ones. Damn, damn, damn,
damn! When will it end! Alzheimers awaits us surely!"
Then again, if the ADA is made to succumb to the wishes of the "noisy and
the few" which is the norm in California, then the ADA will state in a
document for California patients only, "Pursuant to court order XXXX, we
must advise you that amalgams, although silver in color, are actually part
mercury and silver. While there have been no cases where mercury poisoning
has been attributed to amalgams, we want you to be aware of the possibility
that one might be able to detect trace amounts of mercury in your body, but
if you eat fish, then all bets are off as the levels of mercury in your
body will be orders of magnitude greater than from amalgams."
