Amalgam fillings are now banned in Norway!!
In fact any product containing mercury is now banned in Norway. This new law was introduced by the Ministry of the Environment and came into effect on the 1st of this year.
Mercury is an extremely toxic material and literally tons of it ends up in the ocean, rivers and lakes every year.
The subject of amalgam fillings has been a hot and controversial one for many years. Some people argue that they are safe whereas others are adamant that they are not. I take the view that they are not and I had my amalgam fillings replaced with composite ones.
I have also known people who have had severe illness which has been attributed to amalgam fillings.
Therefore I think that it is good news that the Norwegian government has had the courage to ban the amalgam fillings.
To those people who continue to advocate amalgam fillings, may I suggest that even if you are right and amalgam fillings don’t cause health problems (the evidence suggests otherwise) the amount of mercury waste they cause during their ‘manufacture’ which ultimately ends up in waterways should be of concern and that reason alone is enough to warrant a shift from amalgam to composite fillings.
For details of the ban please click here
Reader Comments (3)
Sounds good but as a retired dentist I have to wonder whether the replacement plastics contain the gender-bender bisphenol A.
Ask your dental therapist if it is present in your child's fissure sealant!!! It may not be too relevant as the plastic baby bottles are full of it.
January 31, 2008 | dr maurice mckeown
Some years ago ,after being dogged by thyroid problems for many years in my youth, I decided to follow my intuition and went to a dental clinic in London, which specialised in testing for allergy to amalgam. I was horribly allergic!! They took one year to remove the fillings slowly ,during which time great care was taken....I always had oxygen during the treatment. After the normal detox ( vit c ), I gradually lost my thyroid problems and no longer needed the drugs. I would say, Norway is very wise!!! Today....20 years later, I am 75 and very fit.
February 1, 2008 | jil
Thanks Dr Mckeown for your comment. It is an area that does concern some people and is relevant in terms of information.
The upshot is that polycarbonate has shown in some studies to release bisphenol in some relevant plastics, but the studies conducted are under extreme circumstances and no harmful amounts have been shown in everyday use.
Clinical studies have not been conducted in the same way on other polys, such as the polypropylene, but certainly polypropylene 5 is recommended and has no problems for use. Polypropylene 5 would be more used for clinical use to be safer, but others have no clarified harmful effects for general use.
February 14, 2008 | Joanna Machin (Medical Nutritionist)