Talk:Amalgam (dentistry)

Percents just don't add up

Like it said, a lot of percents on this page just don't add up. Jidanni (talk) 03:19, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Reason-There are decimals involved. They simply rounded to the closest number. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.115.11.101 (talk) 20:45, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

Dead link

Link 2 is a dead link "Questions and answers about amalgam" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.77.67.162 (talk) 05:41, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

External link description is inaccurate and lacks neutrality

In the "Dental amalgam toxicity controversy" section, the text to external link 1 is inaccurate and lacks neutrality. The link is described as "University of Calgary video on Brain Degeneration caused by Mercury Fillings." But the actual UC video is titled, "How Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration [emphasis ours]." It is not titled, How Mercury Fillings Cause Brain Neuron Degeneration, because no part of it shows fillings causing brain neuron degeneration.

The video shows the use of a pipette to deliver drops of mercury to neurons growing in a petri dish. About 1/5 of the way through (no minutes:seconds are given), animation shows a pipette in the upper right, then zooms in to the petri dish containing purple growth media. Slightly past the 1/2 way point, following the time-lapse video of the actual mercury and neurons, the animation again shows the pipette in the upper right. Then the pipette dispenses drops of mercury onto the neuron. Nowhere does the video show mercury being dispensed or otherwise released from a dental filling. A dental filling is not used.

In the introduction, the narrator notes, "Over the past fifteen years, medical research laboratories have established that dental amalgam tooth fillings are a major contributor to mercury body burden." Certainly, from this video one may *infer* that mercury vapor from amalgam may degenerate neurons just like the mercury drops from the pipette; indeed, UC's narrative suggests that this inference be made. However, UC is careful to describe the experiment accurately, as it was actually done.

The "Dental amalgam toxicity controversy" is a section in an encyclopedia, so its purpose is not to debate, but to describe elements of the existing debate in accurate, neutral terms. Describing the video as depicting how mercury from fillings causes brain neuron degeneration is inaccurate, somewhat overreaching, and lacks neutrality. So we suggest that the video be described precisely as UC describes it. The link should read, "University of Calgary video on 'How Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration.'" Self Family (talk) 02:05, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Sounds right, I have removed it. If we really need this video, it should go at Dental amalgam controversy (which currently has plenty of external links). - 2/0 (cont.) 20:38, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

Controversy section: inaccurate representation of sources

I checked one source. I marked what seemed to be the corresponding texts in bold, and underlined the possible conflicts: mercury from amalgam vs. health care facilities; total mercury emissions vs. releases in wastewater; 53% of total emissions is about the UK only; one-third seems to be specific for Canada.

Article:

The WHO reports that mercury from amalgam accounts for 5% of total mercury emissions and that when combined with waste mercury from laboratory and medical devices, represents 53% of total mercury emissions.[19] Separators may dramatically decrease the release of mercury into the public sewer system, where dental amalgams contribute one-third of the mercury waste,[19] but they are not required in the United States.

Reference 19:

Contribution from the health-care sector and Regulation

Health-care facilities are one of the main sources of mercury release into the atmosphere because of emissions from the incineration of medical waste. The Environment Minister of the Canadian province of Ontario declared on December 2002 that emissions from incinerators were the fourth-largest source of mercury.

In the United States, according to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a 1997 report, medical waste incinerators may have been responsible for as much as 10% of all mercury air releases.

Health-care facilities are also responsible for mercury pollution taking place in water bodies from the release of untreated wastewater. According to a 1999 report, health-care facilities may also have been responsible for as much as 5% of all mercury releases in wastewater. Environment Canada estimates that more than one-third of the mercury load in sewage systems is due to dental practice.

Dental amalgam is the most commonly used dental filling material. It is a mixture of mercury and a metal alloy. The normal composition is 45-55% mercury; approximately 30% silver and other metals such as copper, tin and zinc. In 1991, the World Health Organization confirmed that mercury contained in dental amalgam is the greatest source of mercury vapour in non-industrialized settings, exposing the concerned population to mercury levels significantly exceeding those set for food and for air.

According to a report submitted to the OSPAR Commission, in the United Kingdom, annually 7.41 tonnes of mercury from dental amalgam are discharged to the sewer, atmosphere or land, with another 11.5 tonnes sent for recycling or disposed with the clinical waste stream. Together, mercury contained in dental amalgam and in laboratory and medical devices, account for about 53% of the total mercury emissions.

Waste incineration and crematoria are also listed as major sources of mercury emissions. Many countries, such as Armenia, Cameroon, Ghana, Honduras, Pakistan, and Peru, recognize the contributions from hospital thermometers, dental amalgams, hospital waste and/or medical waste incinerators but lack quantitative data. Despite the lack of data, there is good reason to believe that mercury releases from the health sector in general are substantial.

Some countries have restricted the use of mercury thermometers or have banned them without prescription. A variety of associations have adopted resolutions encouraging physicians and hospitals to reduce and eliminate their use of mercury containing equipment.

The Dental amalgam controversy article also presents the 53% and one third as global figures ... DS Belgium (talk) 02:17, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

Preferences vs. insurance

It may be worth noting (if reliable sources can be identified) that while many dentists now prefer to use only composite materials, many dental insurance plans will only pay for amalgam (because it is cheaper). Perhaps the "controversy" article says this, but it does seem to be relevant to this article as well. A source that indicated exactly how much cheaper would be useful, as would recent data on the relative use of amalgam and composite fillings in some large English-speaking country. 121a0012 (talk) 07:55, 18 December 2011 (UTC)

Links to POV site with commercial interest in amalgam removal

I removed a paragraph from the controversy section stating that Norway, Denmark and Sweden have banned silver amalgam. This was an unsourced statement that cited a Long Island dental office in the business of removing these fillings. The domain name was laserfillings dot com. The controversy section is much better put together without it. Bananabananabanana (talk) 09:26, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

Amalgam Causes Genetic Behavior Defects in Boys: Study

http://www.mddionline.com/article/amalgam-causes-genetic-behavior-defects-boys-study

and

"Five hundred seven children, 8–12 years of age at baseline, participated in a clinical trial to evaluate the neurobehavioral effects of Hg fromdental amalgamtooth fillings in children ..." ... These findings are the first to demonstrate genetic susceptibility to the adverse neurobehavioral effects of Hg exposure in children " http://iaomt.guiadmin.com/wp-content/uploads/Woods-JS-et-al-2012-Modification-neurobehavioral-effects-of-mercury-by-CPOX4-in-children_Neurotox-Teratology.pdf