| Mercury Fillings Safe for Children |
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Two long-anticipated, new studies have found no evidence that dental fillings containing mercury can cause IQ-lowering brain damage or other neurological impairment in children.
The scientists of the both the new studies-one from the University of Washington involving orphans in Portugal and another led by researchers in Boston- involving children in New England, said Wednesday that they have not witnessed any brain damage or other neurological problems in children after following the participants from the time they received the fillings rather than trying to patch together evidence of health problems in retrospect.
The Lisbon study headed by Dr. Timothy DeRouen, tracked neurological development in 507 children, ages 8 to 10, at a school in Lisbon where about 20 percent of the students are wards of the state whereas, the other study, led by Dr. Sonja McKinlay of the New England Research Institutes, looked at the effect on intelligence, memory and other mental functions and kidney function in 534 children in northeastern New England, ages 6 to 10.
The studies- published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, revealed that children with ’Amalgam or silver fillings’ were no more likely than other youngsters to suffer such problems.
Amalgam is the silver colored filling material used by dentists to fill cavities. The material in amalgam is made up of mercury and various other metals. As the amalgam is very strong and can withstand heavy biting pressure, it is used mostly on back teeth. But the use of Amalgam fillings has fell down in recent years as the doctors have increasingly switched to resin composite fillings, which are considered more appealing because they are white.
Dr. Timothy said, "We didn’t see any indications of harm to these kids," he further added that they have tested them repeatedly over seven years. The study did not find a difference in either neurological or kidney function in the children with amalgam fillings compared with their companions who got fillings made with other materials.
McKinlay also said that despite the fact that children with the mercury fillings had higher level of mercury in their urine, there was no evidence of more kidney damage.
Adding in the benefits of amalgam fillings, McKinlay expressed she is confident that these fillings are safe for children in this age group, in large part because the youngsters were given far more amalgam than the average American child gets.
On the other hand, there is a controversy about the studies that some people said that the researchers unnecessarily exposed children to a known toxic substance, failed to get the proper consent from parents and guardians and overstated the results. Some analysts say that the studies are improbably to end the fierce arguments over the long-term effects of what are known as amalgam fillings. Some dentists and advocacy groups say that the mercury in fillings can percolate into the body and cause neurological damage, including autism.
On contrary, the recent studies-funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health, found no evidence of harm done to children by what are known as amalgam fillings.
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