CBS NEWS: FDA Weighs Mercury Use in Tooth Fillings
Panel Examines Whether Fillings Dentists Use 50 Million Times Annually Have Adverse Effects
CBS:  Many people have silver fillings in their teeth called amalgams. Dentists put in more than 50 million of them annually.  The Food and Drug Administration looked Tuesday at whether they may be hazardous

This past December the FDA held a dental products panel meeting to listen to the arguments for and against safety of dental amalgam. A number of consumer advocates (injured from dental amalgam) were on hand to present their powerful stories to the FDA.

For over 33 years the FDA dodged properly classifying dental mercury amalgam as it was grandfathered in without proof of safety. In 2007 the FDA lost a lawsuit which forced them to classify dental amalgam. The final rule of the FDA classification was a huge disappointment as it declared mercury amalgam to be safe for anyone and everyone, without regard to age, reproductive status, or any of the known factors that make a person unusually susceptible to the effects of mercury exposure.

Mercury, a known toxin, is banned in skin-bleaching or lightening creams. Mercury is sometimes illegally added to creams because the metal blocks production of melanin, which gives skin its pigmentation. Mercury is rapidly absorbed through the skin and can cause severe health effects, including neurological and kidney damage.

In 1976, Congress directed FDA to classify (determine the risk of) every medical device. Dental fillings are a medical device. FDA proceeded to classify all filling materials except the most common one – and the most controversial one – mercury amalgam fillings. Despite letters, petitions, Congressional hearings, and a lawsuit, FDA refused to budge. For 32 years, from 1976 to 2008, FDA defied the law, until Consumers for Dental Choice sued them.

Please consider the following 16 issues related to violations of Federal contracting regulations or inherent conflicts of interest in the NIDCR contract with LSRO and BETAH Associates.