Mercury Free Dentistry Week

Thank you to our friend, Charlie, over at www.toxicteeth.org for this article.

We reversed FDA’s policy!  With your help, we’ll do more!
 
Dear Friends,
 
Kicking off Mercury-Free Dentistry Week with an interview of yours truly, Dr. Joseph Mercola puts $150,000 on the table, offering to match all donations to Consumers for Dental Choice this week. 
 
Dr. Mercola takes this generous step because he’s impressed by how we reversed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decades-old position favoring amalgam use.  (As a former federal and state public official when I was in my 20s and 30s, I can’t overemphasize the challenge of – and the high odds against – persuading a government agency to change course).  
 
Now FDA advises to end amalgam use for broad categories of Americans, a number clearly exceeding 100,000,000 people, including: 

• Pregnant women, women who are planning to become pregnant, and nursing women: This includes over 75 million women of childbearing age. 

• Children, especially those younger than six years of age: America has about 73 million children, accounting for about 22% of the population.

• People with pre-existing neurological disease: FDA specifically lists multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease as examples, but a multitude of neurological diseases and disorders exist – ranging from learning disabilities to epilepsy. 

• People with impaired kidney function: About 15% of the adult American population (more than 1 in 7 adults) is affected by kidney disease.

• People with known heightened sensitivity (allergy) to mercury or other components of amalgam: Even beyond mercury, which is known to be toxic for everyone, amalgam’s other ingredients – like silver – can also cause problems for some people.

Consumers for Dental Choice salutes this first step toward protecting the public from amalgam, but more importantly we are using it as a springboard to call for more action at FDA….
 
First, we urged FDA to double down on getting its new message directly to consumers.  FDA released infographics illustrating its new amalgam recommendations in both English and (at our request) Spanish. 
 
Second, we mobilized the grassroots to respond when FDA asked for public comment on how to communicate the long-term health risks of medical devices like amalgam. Here’s a shout-out to all who submitted comments and the 51 dentists and other health professionals who signed onto our letter urging FDA to take specific – and effective – action. Thanks!   
 
Third, we emphasize that many people do not realize they belong to the high-risk populations who FDA says should avoid amalgam.  For example, many women do not know they are pregnant early in their pregnancy and 90% of people with kidney disease don't know they have it.  So the best way to avoid amalgam use in these high-risk populations is to not use amalgam for anybody.
 
To keep our effective and efficient 501(c)(3) non-profit group going – with our FDA campaign and beyond – Dr. Mercola matches every dollar you give this week up to $150,000.   You’ve seen us beat the odds time and time again – in the states, in Washington, and in the international arena.  The stakes are now the highest they’ve been.  Please step up!
 
Donate online at https://www.toxicteeth.org/donate.aspx
 
or
 
Send a check to Consumers for Dental Choice, 316 F St, N.E., Suite 210, Washington DC 20002
 
Thank you for your support.