Amalgam Fillings Don't Affect Children's Brain Development, Says Study In ADA Journal

Dental amalgam tooth
fillings do not adversely affect children's brain development and
neurological status, researchers report in the February issue of The
Journal of the American Dental Association.


The authors of the report--members of a joint team from the University
of Lisbon, Portugal, and the University of Washington, Seattle--studied the
possible neurological effects of dental amalgam tooth restorations. Dental
amalgam contains elemental mercury combined with other metals such as
silver, copper, tin and zinc to form a safe, stable alloy. Dental amalgam
has been used for generations to fill decayed teeth that might otherwise
have been lost.




Beginning in 1997 and continuing for seven years, the authors studied
507 Portuguese children aged 8 through 12 years who received either amalgam
or resin-based composite fillings. They conducted routine clinical
neurological examinations to assess two types of neurological signs: hard
(indicating damage to specific neural structures) and soft (subtle signs of
central nervous system dysfunction that likely point to immature
sensory-motor skills rather than to any structural damage in the brain).
The researchers also evaluated the children for presence of tremor.



After seven years, the two groups of children did not differ in terms
of the presence or absence of hard signs or tremor. They also didn't differ
in terms of the presence or absence or severity of soft signs at any point.
Also, as expected in healthy children, the severity of any neurological
soft signs diminished as the children aged.



"Even at the levels of amalgam exposure in this study (a mean of
7.7-10.7 amalgam surfaces per subject across the seven years of
follow-up)," the authors write, "[we] conclude that exposure to mercury
from dental amalgam does not adversely affect neurological status.



"These data indicate the absence of a generalized negative effect on
children's nervous system functions stemming from the presence of dental
amalgam," they continue, "and while we cannot rule out potential adverse
reactions in individual children, we found no indications of any."



JADA, a monthly journal, is the ADA's flagship publication and the most
widely read scientific journal in dentistry.



The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association,
representing more than 155,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral
health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and
promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's
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