It's Official Now: Time to worry about your silver dental fillings.

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For Immediate Release Contacts: Peter Kelley, 202-270-8831September 14, 2006 Freya Koss, 610-649-2606Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology calls for immediateexpanded review of safety of mercury/silver dental fillingsIn response to last week's groundbreaking vote by two U.S. Food and Drug Administration panels to reject a staff white paper on the safety of mercury-laden "silver" dental fillings, the dentists, physicians and scientists of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology today sent the FDA a formal request for an expanded review of current science on dental mercury amalgams, a definitive date for such a hearing, and a format that will assure that the full breadth of health effects is assessed.The Academy's request follows votes Sept. 7, 2006, by two FDA-selected committee panels (Joint Panels), which by a 13-7 margin, rejected the FDA's own report as insufficiently

representative of current science on the health risks of what most consumers are told are silver fillings.While two days of hearings last week provided some opportunity for opposing scientific data, presenters were limited to seven minutes of testimony each, hardly enough time to adequately address this very important, complex and pervasive issue, according to the Academy.The general consensus of joint panel members was an undisputed need for more study, especially regarding dental amalgam risks of mercury exposure to pregnant women and children, immuno-compromised individuals, and other "hypersensitive" populations.It was also noted that while "white" fillings are becoming more prevalent today, largely for aesthetic reasons, there is concern that less-educated and lower-income populations will be subjected to mercury fillings indefinitely unless the government intervenes and traditional dentistry's insistence that

mercury fillings are safe is challenged.The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology believes scientific data already exist that could shed light on this long-covered-up issue. The Academy consists of dentists, physicians and scientists whose mission is to support, review, and disseminate scientific evidence concerning the extended health effects of materials and procedures used in dentistry. Academy members presented evidence to a joint panel on neurology and dental products convened by the FDA, detailing risks to patients receiving mercury fillings that were either omitted or are diametrically opposed to the conclusions represented in the FDA's "white paper" submission to the committee.Some of the risks identified by scientists and health professionals that appeared to be persuasive to the joint committee include:. Harm to unborn babies. Mercury exposure from chewing, and drinking beverages. Interaction with other

metals and dental materials that increases risk of harm. Mercury's links to neurological diseases like Alzheimer's disease and autism. Exceptionally sensitive people such as pregnant women and young children. Lack of patient informed consent"We applaud the joint committee's courage to resist pressures to rubber-stamp support for the safety of fillings that are still being used in many dental offices when the science shows that the claims of safety are unsupportable," Said Dr. Janet Stopka, President of the Academy. "Dental fillings that are 50% mercury, but are sold to the public as silver, do emit mercury vapors in significant enough quantities to cause life-altering health effects."Dr. Terry Messerman, immediate past President of the Academy added: "This one step of resisting business-as-usual and denial of pertinent science is a tremendous victory not only for the more than one-third of dentists in the U.S. who

have already switched to more biologically-compatible treatments, but especially for the millions of patients that have already received what are essentially mercury-emitting implants, and yet were never informed. It is essential that an unbiased review begin immediately so that the science may prevail no matter what it may reveal."Dr. Boyd Haley, professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky and chair of the Academy's Scientific Advisory Board, said, "There is scientific evidence that just cannot be ignored, and this includes a recent study that found 85% of dentists are already displaying a mercury-related biological impairment."Dr. David Regiani, a founding member of the Academy, stated, "We've already seen decisions to reduce or eliminate mercury from drugs, veterinary products, and consumer products, such as thermometers, contact lenses solutions, batteries and disinfectants. And here U.S. dentists are

implanting almost a ton a week of time-release mercury fillings. It's time to put a halt to this."The formal request originates from the Academy's general meeting in Naples, Florida, September 7-9, and is addressed to the FDA, the committees focused on neurological impacts and dental products that rejected the FDA "white paper," and the individual members of the joint committee hearing panel.Additional information can be accessed at www.IAOMT.orgAttachment: IAOMT letter to FDA formally requesting reconvening the Joint Panelshttp://www.iaomt.org/documents/PRESS%20REL%20FDA%209-14-06%20IAOMT%20SIGNOFF.pdf "Our ideal is not the spirituality that

withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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