A 2006 testimonial on FDA hearings:
http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/FDA_hearings/advisory_panel_rejects_amalgam_safety.html
An excerpt:
"
Dr.
Mackert from the ADA told her it would take 265 to 312 amalgam fillings to reach toxic levels of mercury exposure. Another dentist from the ADA said it would take
500 fillings, all in the mouth at one time, to cause a person to be poisoned."
I think someone should have handed him a jar of 200 fillings and asked him to put them in his mouth for what do you think, 5 minutes?
This testimony written by Kathleen Nelson appears on the FDA web site. It's long, but worth the read.
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dockets/06n0352/06n-0352-emc0217-02.pdf
WHY USE “SILVER” MERCURY (TOXIC) DENTAL FILLINGS?
Written by: Kathleen Nelson (mercury survivor)
FDA Hearings 9/6 & 7th/2006 Gaithersburg, MD
Hello, my name is Kathleen Nelson and I have traveled from Austin,
Texas. I am 54 years old, a mother of 2 sons, a grandmother of 4
beautiful grandsons and a 26 year federal civil servant. I am a
survivor of mercury amalgam poisoning. But before I share my
personal experience with mercury poisoning, I would like to sincerely
thank the FDA for having the courage to hold these hearings. But I
must say I am terribly saddened that these hearings are even a
reality.
This question to use mercury or not to use mercury in dental products
is simply absurd to me. The question defies simple common sense. It
does not take a doctorate in chemistry or toxicology to understand
that mercury is a known neurotoxin and degrades our health. It does
not take a panel of “experts” to argue with dueling, biased medical
studies to determine whether or not mercury should be placed in our
bodies. The scientific evidence about the hazards of mercury is not
new. History has documented that fact for us over and over. The
basic, underlying scientific & medical characteristics of mercury
toxicity is indisputable. This notion to prove this or that nuance is only
designed to cloud the issue thus distorting the truth.
We can not see the forest through the trees unless we are truly willing
to attack this problem from a different angle, a paradigm shift of
thinking, thus a dramatic change of heart. There is no doubt that
every single one of us here today acknowledges mercury is a
neurotoxin and harmful to our health. This ultimate truth is our
common ground. Where we disagree is why we keep using
mercury in amalgam fillings.
So, I ask this question, why are mercury fillings still being used in
America knowing full well the hazards to our health & to our
environment? There is no denying that not one single scientific or
medical case can be made to ethically support the intentional use of
toxic materials over the ethical, economical, and safer non heavy
metal alternatives available today. Not one medical case.
2
All Americans would like to believe that the FDA will use its tax
dollars in an ethical & responsible manner. The FDA, like all
Government agencies, has a mission statement to uphold.
The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health.
Unlike the mission of the FDA to protect the public health, the mission
statement of multi million dollar mining companies is to make the
most profit possible for all stakeholders up and down the mercury
food chain. I have read that for every $400.00 of raw mercury, over
$40,000 of product is gained at the expense of the health of millions
of Americans.
Profits from these products are coveted by the corporate spin doctors
and corporate media, hired to perpetuate the veil of ignorance in our
country. Thus, for decades, Americans have been deliberately
deceived by the best media spin money can buy. The truth is that
simple.
The FDA mission is clear, to protect public health. The mercury
industry’s mission is equally as clear. Make more money. Follow the
money trail and you will understand why corporate profiteers continue
to pour mega bucks into keeping Americans in the dark or at best
confused. This is a profit versus health issue and nothing, absolutely
nothing more than that. The worse part is this unethical behavior
seemingly governed by greed makes Americans sick. The truth is
that simple.
The truth is: mercury is a neurotoxin & causes harm to our lives; our
immune systems, to our human embryos, to our babies, to their
brains, to our children, to our mothers & fathers and to our very
existence here on earth. The frequency of exposure one has to
mercury, the more mercury burden the body carries. Mercury
crosses the blood/brain barrier putting in motion all kinds of
neurological disorders and diseases. This is an indisputable scientific
& medical truth.
3
I applaud the FDA for warning pregnant women and young children of
the harmful effects of eating fish tainted with mercury. But yet, the
FDA stays silent when asked to warn the same pregnant women and
young children of the toxic effects of mercury amalgam fillings placed
in their heads.
On one hand, the FDA warns mercury is not healthy, be careful about
eating mercury tainted fish. But on the other hand, the FDA
continues to support the use of mercury amalgam fillings by not
warning Americans about the toxic effects. It’s bad for your health to
eat mercury in fish but somehow it’s ok to directly put mercury fillings
in your living teeth. This is nonsensical and insulting.
FDA, you can not have it both ways. Mercury is either toxic or it isn’t
no matter how it’s delivered, be it fish, in vaccinations, coal plant
emissions or amalgam fillings. The answer is scientifically
indisputable. The truth is that simple.
In 1989, seventeen long years ago, the EPA declared mercury to be
a hazardous, toxic waste material. In 1991 Sweden banned mercury
fillings from being used in the teeth of pregnant women. The
Swedish Government even paid for the removal of mercury fillings for
any & all of its citizens. Here it is 2006 and still no warning from the
FDA concerning the ill effects of “silver” mercury fillings. This inaction
provokes questions.
All health physicians take the Hippocratic Oath; “do no harm.” It
appears this oath doesn’t apply to the American Dental Association.
Why does the American Dental Assoc. continue to condone this 150
year old barbaric practice of putting a neurotoxin into our heads?
There are other economic, non heavy metal, non toxic materials
being used today in lieu of mercury amalgam. The truth is simple.
They may tell you mercury fillings are cheaper and/or more durable
than the non toxic material. The truth is they make hefty profits off
mercury dental products and mercury mining. (Mercury, as you may
or may not know, is a by product of gold mining and is poisoning
untold numbers of humans around the world.)
4
Even if mercury is cheaper and more durable, this absurd reason to
use it does not address the ethical question of placing a known
neurotoxin into our children’s heads. This practice is simply
outrageous and it’s akin to slow generational genocide.
I sincerely welcome the cosmetic dentist practices in America today.
Cosmetic dentists have intentionally side stepped the ADA gag rule
on mercury amalgam fillings by dedicating their practice to cosmetic
dentistry. And if mercury amalgam becomes a thing of the past
because they are “ugly”, then so be it. Good rid dens I say.
But of course, poor people would not be given this same luxury would
they. Are poor children somehow not worthy of not being poisoned
by mercury fillings? What about the soldiers in our military? They too
are being poisoned by free mercury fillings funded by our
Government directly paid for by our tax dollars. The money being
made by this long time business arrangement is staggering. In turn
the money being made by our health system due to the poisoning
effects of mercury fillings is equally as staggering as is the personal
cost of misdiagnosis.
My own personal experience with misdiagnosis & mercury
amalgam fillings came to a head a couple years ago. For years prior
to this point, I suffered with chronic sinus and ear problems,
hypothyroidism, allergy symptoms, dry itchy, burning skin, severe
headaches, dizziness, extreme fatigue and flu like symptoms. I took
drugs prescribed by my doctors to manage my symptoms, but never
knew their cause until recently. After years of symptoms that became
increasingly worse with time, I became very ill, to the point of
seriously thinking about having to take disability retirement. The
doctors checked for brain tumors, aneurysms, MS, West Nile, Lymes,
lupus, Meniere’s and other disorders and diseases. Per the doctors,
the cause of my illness was most likely an unknown virus.
Trusting the advice of these reputable doctors, I waited for over a
year for this mysterious virus to pass. I barely functioned from day to
day. I ended up having to take much leave from work as I just
couldn’t move out of bed.
5
And when I was at work, I could not perform the analytical tasks my
job required, let alone speak full sentence or recall what I had just
said a couple hours before. I would literally fall asleep at my desk by
10a.m. each morning. While driving home on my 25 minute commute,
I would nod off, and fall asleep at the wheel momentarily, damn lucky
not to have caused an accident. When I arrived at home, I flopped
onto the couch unable to muster the energy to make supper for
myself. Living day to day was hell.
A year later, word of mouth information by the grace of God came to
me through my manager at work who had gone to church with a lady
who had experienced similar health problems. She encouraged me to
see Dr Kendal Stewart in Austin, Texas. I thank God everyday I was
able see this man. The truth is my mercury poisoning by “silver”
mercury amalgam fillings has been scientifically & medically
documented. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas covered my medical
expenses caused by mercury amalgam poisoning.
My peak illness symptoms were: Vertigo, vomiting, nausea,
dizziness, peripheral & nervous system disorders, ear aches &
tinnitus, burning & itchy skin and burning brain sensations,
imbalance, severe fatigue, severe muscle aches, over sensitive
nervous system, inability to focus, drooping eye and mouth,
sensitivity to light & sound, difficulty speaking, anger, lack of focus,
forgetfulness, metal taste in mouth, sensitive teeth and gums, sinus
problems, severe headaches, rashes, hypothyroidism, weight gain
and gastric digestive problems.
With additional neurological tests, blood tests and a urine challenge
test for heavy metals and other toxins, Dr Stewart confirmed
medically & scientifically that I had high levels of mercury in my body.
Dr. Stewart recommended immediate removal of all of my mercury
fillings. The 7 mercury fillings in my mouth were 36 years old placed
in my teeth as a teenager. I had them immediately removed.
6
Dr. Stewart placed me on oral chelation & support protocol for about
10 months after the removal of all 7 toxic fillings. Little by little, the
mercury was being excreted out of my body, out of my brain.
Chelation was very difficult but thank God, I recovered from this
mercury amalgam poisoning. I am healthy now and I have no
mercury amalgam fillings. This is not a coincidence. I am now
working with full vigor. My health was returned to me simply by
removing the toxic source, the 7 mercury amalgam fillings, and
chelating the toxic mercury out of my body. The truth is this simple.
I experienced 36 years of mercury exposure directly from 7 mercury
amalgam fillings. Now that my mercury fillings are gone, my current
mercury levels are now low. More importantly, I feel healthy. I have
no allergies. I have no fatigue. The symptoms mentioned above
virtually gone. My body’s need for thyroid medication supplement
has been reduced by 33% since the removal of my 7 mercury fillings
and chelation. My prescription for my lenses has twice been reduced
within a year of treatment. All of this and more is scientifically and
medically documented. More importantly, I don’t have to take
disability retirement.
I am one of the lucky ones. Many hundreds of thousands of
Americans are not so lucky and are in fact misdiagnosed just as I had
been. Did you know that the brain of a person diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s has 4 times as much mercury than a person’s brain
without the disease? This too is not a coincidence. The truth is
simple.
Mercury poisoning by mercury amalgam fillings is an epidemic
created by the unwillingness of the industry to stop the madness.
They purport that short term studies prove mercury fillings are safe
ignoring studies that prove the longer you are exposed to mercury,
the higher the body burden, thus more prone to illness and disease.
They purport certain levels of mercury are somehow tolerable and
normal. They purport since people don’t generally die immediately
after receiving toxic mercury fillings that their subsequent health
problems must be caused by something other than mercury
poisoning.
7
In fact, the later statement is what the opposition is counting on to
diffuse this issue, to convince Americans that since they didn’t
immediately get sick or die from mercury fillings, there is nothing
wrong with using a known neurotoxin to fill teeth. Nothing could
be further from the truth. We all remember the issues surrounding
the lead, tobacco and asbestos law suits. The same deceitful media
spin tactics were used to keep corporate profits flowing totally
disregarding catastrophic damage to human life. Undoubtedly, it
appears history has once again repeated itself. The truth about
mercury is simple. Mercury is harmful to our bodies. No amount of
mercury should ever be tolerated in dental products.
I know many people who have experienced very similar symptoms
with long term exposure to mercury amalgam fillings. The worse part
is that deliberate misinformation continues to distract Americans and
many medical practitioners from the truth. Why is autism on the rise?
Why is MS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, peripheral and nervous system
disorders, chronic fatigue and Meniere like symptoms on the rise?
The truth is simple. We are being poisoned!
An undisputable fact is that a healthy immune system protects us
from diseases and disorders. A weakened immune system makes us
vulnerable to viruses & bacteria that cause illness. Our bodies are
capable of miraculous feats when the immune system functions
properly. This intentional degrading of our immune system through
mercury exposure sets us up for all kinds diseases and disorders.
You can not have health and have a compromised immune system.
The truth is that simple.
FDA, you must protect public health. That is your responsibility.
It’s your soul. The mercury industry’s special interest groups do not
lobby for the hundreds of millions of Americans already toxic with
mercury. They do not lobby for the thousands of poor children unable
to function normally because of mercury poisoning, and they do not
lobby for the untold numbers of elderly who have been misdiagnosed
and sentenced to needlessly live out their lives in utter misery.
8
There is no sane, ethical, medical, or scientific reason to use
mercury fillings anymore than there is a sane, ethical, medical or
scientific reason to use mercury in knee or hip replacements. There
are scientific & medical reasons why the medical establishment does
not use mercury for knee and hip replacements. But yet, somehow
it’s medically acceptable to put mercury fillings in our heads.
Amazing! Just because a dentist placed the mercury filling in the
tooth does not make it non toxic. On the other hand, a neurosurgeon
would never ever place mercury in the head of her patient would she?
Absolutely not! Why, because mercury is a neurotoxin. The truth is
that simple.
So I ask the question again; why in God’s name do we still use
mercury in amalgam fillings? There is only one driver for this
unethical behavior. Sadly, it is money. No one here can dispute that
if minimal profits were involved with mercury dental products &
mercury mining, we would not be having this hearing today. The truth
is that simple.
I urge the FDA leadership to carry out its mission statement to warn
all Americans of the toxic danger. “Silver” mercury fillings have no
place in a progressive society. Ask those countries that have
banned them or are in process of doing so. Ask Sweden why it pays
for the removal of all “silver” mercury amaIgam fillings from the teeth
of all its citizens. Are Swedish lives somehow more worthy than
Americans? Do they know something about mercury fillings that we
don’t? Of course not, however unlike our American Government, the
Swedish Government appears to take their role in protecting public
health seriously and advocates for the people, not the special
interests. That, pure & simple is the difference. It is simply
unconscionable to allow this toxic epidemic to continue. Granted, the
truth of it all is very painful and unsettling but the consequences of
continuing this falsehood is a human tragedy equal to any epidemic
or war in our history. This apparent indifference and disconnect to
the future health of human life is abhorrent. I know first hand what it
feels like to be poisoned by mercury fillings.
9
I know what it feels like to be healthy after the removal of mercury
fillings. My health is not a coincidence nor is it an anomaly.
There are hundreds of thousands of people who have gone through
this very same nightmare. For those of us who have been poisoned
by mercury, and lucky enough to know the truth, the answer is crystal
clear. Therefore, I invite every naysayer to walk a mile in our shoes.
The good news is every one of us has the power to change the
outcome of mercury poisoning. This ethical legacy is in our hands
right now. FDA, be pro health and give Americans a choice by
empowering them with the truth. That is your mission, your civil
responsibility.
Finally, this question to use or not to use mercury in dental products
is indeed absurd and mocks our intelligence. To argue at what point
mercury becomes more harmful is immaterial. This argument at best
is simply a diversion, thus insuring that the mercury gravy train
continues.
The fact is, there is no medical or ethical reason to take the risk
yet cruel studies funded by the mercury industry and their alter
egos, brag of using innocent, trusting children as lab rats to
further promote the consumption of mercury products. This
behavior is simply heinous and should be condemned.
The fact is, we don’t have to poison our children. We don’t have
to poison our earth. We don’t have to poison our future. The
awful truth is however, we simply choose to.
