The Age of Autism: Dental Denial

By Dan Olmsted
 
Recently, the excruciatingly well-named Dr. William Moody – also known as “The Parking Rage Dentist” – got three years probation for shoving a woman to the ground and fighting with her brother in a battle for a parking space. You can see it HERE.
 
This reminded me of a post I’ve been intending to write for a while: Are dentists mental? Put more seriously, is all that exposure to mercury causing some dental workers to have mental health and other problems, problems that might also affect their children and grandchildren and could even have something to do with autism?
 
Of course, the dental lobby and their government enablers – I mean regulators -- says that’s silly – that the idea that dentists are more prone to suicide has been disproven, that there is nothing to show that amalgam (half mercury) fillings do any harm. The New York Times reported in July: “Silver dental fillings containing mercury are safe for use by adults and children ages 6 and above, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. Only people who are allergic to mercury should avoid that type of filling, the agency said.
  
“After reviewing more than 200 scientific studies, the agency concluded that mercury vapor released by the filling was not enough to cause brain damage. Still, the agency for the first time classified the fillings as a Class II, or ‘moderate risk,’ medical device.”
 
That’s classic double talk – they’re safe, but they are in a category called “moderate risk.” Michael Belkin, a friend of AOA who frequently sends out news stories with his own pithy headlines, put it this way: “F.D.A. Deems Mercury Level in Fillings 'Moderately' Safe.”

Of course, other studies say otherwise. The Geiers and Janet K. Kern reported in July that children of mothers “with ≥6 amalgams were 3.2-fold significantly more likely to be diagnosed with autism (severe), in comparison to ASD (mild), than subjects with ≤5 amalgams. Dental amalgam policies should consider Hg exposure in women before and during the child-bearing age and the possibility of subsequent fetal exposure and adverse outcomes.”
 
What impresses me as much as dueling scientific studies, though, are the anecdotes that keep accumulating – anecdotes like The Parking Rage Dentist (uncontrolled rage being a symptom of heavy metal toxicity). Let me share two or three more.
 
A friend of mine was at an AIDS event in Florida. A mutual friend introduced him to a parent of an affected child. This parent, a dentist whose husband is also a dentist, volunteered that the whole “mercury-autism” idea is bunk because “we both rolled around in mercury in medical school and we’re just fine.”
 
The mutual friend soon took my friend aside and said, “They’re NOT just fine. The wife is so jacked up she has chronic insomnia. They’re divorced and her husband lives like a hermit out in the woods.” 
 
And, of course, they had a child with autism. Dental denial, indeed.
 
I know another autism parent whose father was a dentist and, according to her, he shows clear signs of mercury poisoning. And her uncle was a dentist who hung himself with a bedsheet in his hospital room.
 
But of course autism is not the only disorder associated with mercury poisoning, and an interesting study would be total health outcomes of dentists and their children. Just the other day a friend was reading a draft of the book Mark Blaxill and I are writing on mercury poisoning and commented on the characteristic “peripheral neuropathy” – sensory disorders and pain in the extremities – in many cases.
 
He had just been to his high-school reunion and caught up with a friend who has had a lifelong, painful debility that now requires a cane. She was telling him that when she was young, she didn’t realize she even had a disorder – she thought that everyone’s hand hurt when it grasped an umbrella. Doctors have assigned a number of different diagnoses to her ailment over the years and are currently describing it as an extreme variant of a disease first identified by pioneering neurologist Charcot. 
 
To find out why that’s interesting, you’ll have to read the book. But meanwhile, my friend mentioned that her father is a dentist.
--
Dan Olmsted is Editor of Age of Autism.
 

Comments

[john fryer chemist]

Too Much Mercury

Would be interested to know if you have contact lens or have rhesus incompatible blood or had that Hep B vaccine and did not realise it.

The dental connection is hard to accept as metallic mercury although a neurotoxin is surpassed infinitely by organomercury which turns up in other places than vaccines.

A lot of medical products are preserved with this brain destroying concoction.

[john fryer chemist]

Cherry Picking

Opponents love to tell us that autism was around LONG before thimerosal appeared on the vaccine scene.

And of course they are correct.

Dr Down famous for discovering Downs Syndrome also related illness the same as autism but is mostly known for the Downs condition.

We know know the power of mercury today may be capable of inducing the genetic changes to bring on Downs Syndrome.

In fact mercury is shaping up to be REALLY NASTY.

But of course that is understating the harm of MERCURY.

Sadly, only ten years ago everyone or almost everyone still thought of mercury as a verstile element of much value in medical practices.

Too many people still practice with it - dentists, vaccine makers and anyone else that is as MAD as a HATTER as well.

[Too much Hg]

I had over 20 mercury fillings, some placed from early childhood and some as an adult, when I was pregnant with my daughter. (You’d think I never brushed! But I brushed plenty, and drank nothing but milk until I was in my twenties. After reading “Cure Tooth Decay” by Ramiel Nagel, I finally understood the situation with my teeth.)

My daughter, who has autism, had difficulties from birth with feeding, rashes, sleep problems, etc. We did not vaccinate her due to our religious beliefs. And thank God that we did not, because with her already high mercury burden, I believe the vaccines with their toxins might have killed her (SIDS).

Within four months of our daughter’s diagnosis, we found the article “Autism: A Unique Type of Mercury Poison” by Sallie Bernard et al. That’s how we discovered that our daughter was mercury poisoned – all those “silver” fillings in my mouth were actually half MERCURY, and I had no idea all those years! We were one of the first families to start chelating their child using the DAN protocol. Our daughter, at almost 12 years old, still has some “autism” but is high functioning, mainstreamed, and recovering more every day.

[Angry in Michigan]

I really want to get my amalgams out. I have nine of them and have 2 of my 3 children (triplets) on the spectrum. I am always so tired and have some kind of sensory pain problem in the palms of my hands. When I rub my hands together, they feel like they are on fire. I am angry because my kids are sick and I am spending so much damn money on chelating them. Why can't real studies be done and real results given to the people in a timely manner before so many are injured. This insanity has got to stop!

[Teresa Conrick]

Cherry-

Thanks for your support. I think I'll find a dentist (mercury-free) that will help me out. It'll be an early holiday gift to myself-- "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".... ☺

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

My friend's mom was bugging her as a teenager to call the dentist for an appointment. The dentist worked in a high rise building in Chicago. My friend finally made the call and was told, " Doctor Blake just jumped out the window!" Oh, sorry- I forgot- Thats just anecdotal evidence. Surely mercury doesnt really cause dentists any problems.

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

To Teresa Conrick, Could you consider simply having your two amalgam -filled teeth extracted.? Im 63 years old, had two big molars extracted, two years back. Im quite happy with the result- so far and really glad to have lost two teeth full of mercury.

[Dr. L'Hommedieu]

Unbelievable: “Silver dental fillings containing mercury are safe for use by adults and children ages 6 and above, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. Only people who are allergic to mercury should avoid that type of filling, the agency said.” This kind of “logic” is the primary reason occipito-rectal surgery should be a mandatory procedure for these FDA officials. Sure, I have an “allergy” to mercury, just like I have an “allergy” to nerve gas.

I will say I have occasionally seen patients who worked as part-time dental assistants that would develop migraine headaches the day of or the day after they worked at their office. They never made the connection until I told them it was due to mercury exposure. Apparently they were “allergic” to the mercury vapors they were picking up from the dental procedures. Without a doubt, it was their vaccinations and “silver” amalgams that contributed to their developing a greater sensitivity to the mercury in their environment. Using DMSA remedied the headaches.

Now how exactly is the average individual supposed to recognize they have an “allergy” to the mercury in their amalgams when the CDC, FDA and medical authorities can’t even recognize mercury poisoning in our children from vaccinations? Go to FDA and CDC web sites for the lists of possible symptoms one could expect as a result of a dental mercury “allergy” and tell me what you find?

Nothing.

Here is part of the FDA ruling on this subject as of June, 2008:

"Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetus.”

“Pregnant women and persons who may have a health condition that makes them more sensitive to mercury exposure, including individuals with existing high levels of mercury bioburden, should not avoid seeking dental care, but should discuss options with their health practitioner."

Although very evasive, at least it was in the right direction.

[Lisa]

Of all the hassle and BS and headaches from therapists who don't quite "get" autism to (not) getting an aide for my son to go to public school....at least we have a dentist who SO gets it. He is mercury free and even has a line on his intake form about "do you prefer fluoride-free treatments?". He shows me the ingredients of anything he uses on my kid, so I can check it all out - no artificial anything, no toxins. He even commented that he can't understand what the controversy even IS about with mercury, aluminum, and vaccines and autism!

Of all the people we have to deal with for our kids, who would have thought I'd find the DENTIST the most educated and understanding? Thank God for small blessings.

[Amy in Idaho]

Well, one good thing has come from my not having dental insurance - I go to dental hygiene schools for routine cleanings. No restorative work done at schools = no mercury on the premises. Student hygienists who have yet to be exposed for hours a day with amalgam/mercury = smiling, happy, eager to please people. No wonder the hygenists of my past were always so cranky and eager for a fight over flossing.......

[Grace]

Well I would love to see a study done on women who have had amalgams placed or replaced during pregnancy because I had one replaced while I was 5 mos. pregnant with my 3rd child, & while all 5 of my kids have food intolerances, he is the only one on the spectrum, & has the most immune system problems.

I also had a filling placed 2 mos before I conceived my first-born & he has Tourette's Syndrome.

Both of them were fully vaccinated during the age of thimerosal. :-(

The immunological &/or neurological issues of my 5 kids rank in the same order as their degree of mercury exposure. My 5th child had the least (only that which he received from my body) & he has some minor food intolerances but is otherwise totally healthy.

I am living with all the proof I need on this issue.

[Theresa]

Maybe it's time for an extension of the mandatory switchover to compact fluorescent lightbulbs--you know, the ones with mercury. Most municipalities don't have facilities to recycle them (or to dispose of the mercury properly), and the EPA's guide on what to do if you break one is a six-step process (http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#fluorescent) that includes throwing away anything that comes into contact with the broken bulb. But no worries, right? Come 2010, CFLs will be the only bulbs on the market, and their toxic mercury will poison every landfill and a great number of homes. We just can't seem to learn from our mistakes.

[AmyinCO]

I have a friend who was taking her child to a pediatric dentist who is no longer practicing because he has a very progressive form of Alzheimers (I think he is in his early 50's). This was discovered after my friend put her child "under" to have 7 cavities filled. This dentist put fillings in the WRONG teeth.

[Julie Obradovic]

My mother was a dental hygenist while she was pregnant, rolling the amalgams in her hands. Had multiple fillings herself. My older sibling, the first born, would easily have been diagnosed with ADHD these days; suffered as a baby from reflux disorder, bronchial and ear repeated infections, skin conditions and raw egg allergy (diagnosed after the MMR). Walked and ran with a gait, struggled socially, and has low muscle tone.

My mother now suffers from autoimmune issues and undiagnosed illnesses that come and go. Lost her sense of smell years ago.

I had 13 amalgams while pregnant with my affected daughter, one of which needed an emergency root canal. I live and grew up 5.2 miles from a coal burning plant and can see the plume from my house. I also ate tuna a few times while breast feeding, as at that time, there were no warnings for pregnant women or moms.

My husband and his father have an allergy to aluminum and can't wear any aluminum containing deodorant. My mother and I are sensitive to all metals and have to wear stainless steel jewelry or it dyes our skin green.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that our genetics coupled with our environmental history were simply too much for our 6.8 ounce baby to handle at one day old and throughout the next year of her life.

[Also not defending amalgams]

The first amalgams were used in the early 1800's.

Parkinson's disease was first described in 1817.

[Garbo]

My husband's father is a dentist and his mother was a hygeinist. I had 10 mercury fillings at the time of my pregnancies. My mother has a mouth full of amalgam fillings too. Our childhood dentists were two brothers, and I know one of them died of cancer at a young age. (We moved away, not sure what happened to the other one.) My father in law has had prostate cancer and has terrible circulation problems in his legs and issues with his heart. I seem to remember back in the 70s/80s reading stories that dentists had one of the highest suicide rates of any profession. Will see if I can find that article.

[Cherry Sperlin Misra]

To Guri, This is an excellent question, which takes us back to the question : Does a toxic tipping point cause autism or is it caused by a genetic inability to excrete mercury ? No doubt both come into play in differing degrees for different children.
It would appear that although there seem to be some few cases of autism caused by dentistry alone, there would be many more in which the mercury from the dentistry combined with the huge amounts of mercury in vaccines that came into use after 1985. Also can anyone weigh in here as to when Rhogamma injections with mercury came into use for Rh negative condition in pregnancy? Probably 40 years back, a woman who got dentistry done during pregnancy or breast feeding, would simply have had a hyperactive boy. After 1985 she would have had a fully autistic boy.
One has to remember too that the use of dentistry was much less in earlier years. I distinctly recall that in my childhood in Seattle, nearly 60 years ago, my mother was one of very few who would take her kids to the dentist once or twice a year. Most other mothers took their kids only when they had a toothache.
And yes,mercury toxicologists tell us that mercury is made more toxic by aluminium, so putting them both in vaccines is one more inexplicable vaccine error that no one wants to address (except people at AOA !).

[Not defending Amalgams]

Amalgams have been used since the 1830's. The first case of autism was diagnosed in the 1940's. Doesn't quite add up unless you work for the CDC.

[Kathy Blanco]

Pretty much all the dentists I have been to, even their nurses are quircky, a little on the strange side, and have severe problems with not shutting up... not kidding, just do the damn procedure and get on with it, do I need to hear about your last night's escapades?...but maybe that's the mercury poisoning in me, that causes rages? Who knows? All I know is when I walk into those places, I smell the chemicals, and mercury, and want to run. I also don't believe fluoride is GOOD FOR YA, and that we are fluoride toxic, which as we speak is killing my friends child with osteosarcoma (puberty, most often the target age). I can't even stand the thought that what is happenign to my friend, is derived from TRUST that industry, all industry is looking out for us. I know, that my eleven amalgams contributed to TWO of my children getting autism. KNOW IT, FEEL IT, and can PROVE IT. Having Aluminum in Fluoride (yes folks, look it up), and having mercury in mothers teeth (Dr Jim Adams, more moms with autistic children have more of them), and having vaccines full of heavy metals as well as the coal mining industires, sludge fertilizers, disposal problems with mercury, and the like, are putting together the PERFECT STORM of autism.

[Stagmom]

My dentist's son had a rare brain cancer.

And I know of a wonderful, caring father and grandfather, who was a dentist before branching into another dental specialty, whose three grand daughters have autism and whose grand son had a seizure disorder, strabismus and an undescended testicle - all of which are associated with autism.

[Perio-dentist drama]

Here's my story. Would periodontists fall in the same category? I had two mobile teeth in my upper jaw and there was pain. The dentist referred me to the periodontist who was supposed to do what he needed to do to "save" my teeth. He took a look, gave me an antibiotic for infection and then latched onto the fact that my lower incisors were in serious need of a gum graft. Well I avoided that surgery by choosing to have very high BP on the day of the surgery (can you tell I have white coat syndrome?). Well, my BP remained high and I went for a couple more cleanings and since the teeth were a tad mobile, doing better pain wise, they filled in another antibiotic Rx for me.

Then I went for my regular dentist appointment and complained that my teeth were still mobile and could I get another antibiotic course (these were short 7 day bursts) to completely knock this thing off. No pain, hardly any mobility. The dentist then referred me back to the periodontist alarmed that the problem had not been resolved and that the perio needed to be in the know. I went back to the perio and was told that my teeth were a lost cause and that the bone was gone and there was nothing they could do to save the teeth. WTF? And they wasted a whole year to tell me this? Yet were willing to do surgery on another part of my mouth where there was no danger of anything falling out. Unbelievable.

I went back to my dentist and fumed. They had a conversation after which I got a call saying I should call back since it seemed I had "questions." I don't have questions, I want frigging answers which of course they can't provide. Can't even disseminate information that is pertinent. I didn't call back and I am looking for a new periodontist.

[Anne McElroy Dachel]

Dan,
You bring up a good topic.
How are dentists doing? They're on the front lines facing mercury exposure every day, breathing in those vapors constantly, unprotected.

I can tell you how my old mercury-containing dentists are doing.
One is dead of some neuro-degenerative disease.
Another one has chronic fatigue syndrome and can only work part-time.
And another dentist I know had his daughter cleaning his offices after school and she ended up with cancer in high school.

I cringe when I think of how mercury is tossed around in most dental offices.

Fortunately, we have a wonderful MERCURY-FREE DENTIST now. I was scared to death to have my fillings removed and he used great techniques like an oxygen mask, rubber protection in my mouth and high speed suction to remove any vapors.

When I left my old dentist, I told him that his environment wasn't healthy for him or his patients. He showed me the four latest ADA studies showing amalgams to be safe. Reminded me of a doctor showing us the latest CDC studies proving vaccines are safe.

Anne Dachel
Media

[Frank for Aidan]

According to Wikipedia on hat manufacturing:

“As mercury was used in the process of curing felt used in some hats, it was impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the mercury fumes given off during the hat making process. Hatters and mill workers often suffered mercury poisoning as residual mercury vapor caused neurological damage including confused speech and distorted vision. It was not unusual then for hatters to appear disturbed or mentally confused; many died early as a result of mercury poisoning.”

Hence the saying “Mad as a hatter”. The modern equivalent might be “Mad as a dentist”.

[Gatogorra]

I got my amalgams out fifteen years ago but my husband still has about five and he's arranged with our regular dentist to start the process bit by bit. Our regular dentist-- who's father was her partner in practice until he recently retired-- agreed to do it safely. Why? Because she's chelating herself and considers mercury unsafe. I'm not sure how she's going to work that out in her practice and the fact that her patients' insurance won't cover composite, but there's always a first step.

We'd started seeing this dentist when I was pregnant. She's very chatty and at that time she seemed to be on the verge of "nature-y"-- had a growing awareness of the dangers of certain chemicals. We talked about things to avoid in pregnancy-- alcohol, smoke, fumes, commercial cleaners, pesticides, drugs, luncheon meats, sodium laureth sulfate etc.-- not mercury because I had no idea it was in the flu shot I was about to get in my eighth month. We talked about how there was sodium laureth sulfate in Tom's of Maine toothpaste, even the pediatric form, and she was outraged, saying she intended to call her former college roommate who was a Tom's executive (several years later, there was no longer sodium laureth sulfate in Tom's toothpaste). I said I also stayed away from soy because I was having a boy-- studies a few years ago showed that something in soy could effect male development and also effect fertility.

A few years ago, this dentist got married and they were having difficulty having children. She told my husband during a visit that I'd put the fear of God in her about soy and she stayed away from it.

When I was in her office last year, I asked if she did pediatric dentistry and discussed how my kids couldn't have fluoride because they were having developmental delays and problems with metals. She was alarmed, saying fluoride was important, etc., etc. I like this woman and didn't get upset, just said we couldn't take the risk and xylitol seemed to be keeping their teeth in perfect shape. She was sympathetic, noting how much effort we'd made to avoid toxins in the home, in medicine and everything else only to end up having the children injured. I didn't say the "A" word but it was understood. "Injured" was understood. She'd read a study some years earlier about how painkillers and other psychoactive meds could increase risk of autism (impacting mitochondrial function), so she was already thinking "environment" in terms of autism-- just not her OWN environment. Not yet anyway.

My husband normally isn't the subversive one in the family-- or maybe he IS the subversive one because I'm sometimes too direct and he holds back, dropping the tiniest remarks here and there, thus people can be very moved by what he says. He'd had many visits with this dentist and some time around the point he asked if she could remove his mercury amalgams last year, this dentist started putting two and two together on her own. Maybe looking up "soy" and "fertility" and "fluoride" and "neurological development" got her into the "vaccine injury" information zone eventually, which would lead inexorably to concepts of mercury. Certainly we couldn't be the only source of information for her, but she certainly saw the whole toxic modern drama play out through us.

[Craig Willoughby]

Didn't the Oraccolytes used to make fun of people who believed that the mercury in Dental amalgams was dangerous? Strange how we still haven't heard an apology from them. Also, strange that they never mention it anymore, either.

[Teresa Conrick]

Ironically, I am taking Megan to the dentist today -- no more mercury for her!-- yet the damage has been done. I also had an amalgam replaced while pregnant with her and then she had the onslaught of thimerosal vaccines (but they're not dangerous either, Dan...thimerosal has been reduced just as a PRECAUTION, don't ya know).

Here's another "anecdotal" story. I had a mercury amalgam removed in Dec. of '08 at my dentist's office. They do not do any precautions- no mask, no oxygen, no dam. I thought I would be ok and I was ok until about 2 weeks after, then it crept up on me. I had ear buzzing/ ringing, very noticable vision loss, GI issues, anxiety/heart palpitations, and a scary one that overlaps many of the diseases we discuss- leg jerking/muscle twitching.

Needless to say, I went for help using the DAN! treatments - oral chelation, probiotics, and vit/minerals. I am much better- no more twitching- but the ear ringing remains as well as on/off anxiety, so the treatment continues.

I still have 2 very large mercury amalgams left and I need to go to a mercury-free dentist though the expense and denial by insurance to pay for it doesn't help my plight. I can't keem them in but getting them out is hell.

The severity of my daughter's "autism" symptoms and my amalgam experience reflects our family's, how did the FDA say it -- "people who are allergic to mercury"...yes, that would be us, if allergic means poisoned.

[nhokkanen]

Evidence abounds showing dental mercury's harmful health effects, yet the dental trade unions bar discourse and investigation. No one wants to be held responsible.

One can easily look through family histories and see common threads within the variety of mercury-induced ailments -- disorders that frequently diminish after the toxin is removed from near highly-vascular mouth tissue. I speak from experience.

Health insurance records of dental workers would be VERY revealing. People used to gossip that our childhood dentist was an alcoholic simply because his hands shook sometimes, but no one ever said they smelled alcohol on his breath as he worked over them.

A few years back I met with staff of a dental office and argued about mercury toxicity studies. The employees at that clinic were suffering from cancer, infertility, immune problems and mental illness but chose to see no link between their sicknesses and the toxins involved in their livelihood.

As others have noted at AoA using this apt quote from Upton Sinclair: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”

[samaxtics]

One of my amalgam filled molars cracked in my 9th month of pregnancy with my son who is on the spectrum. I remember the look of horror on my dentist's face and thought it was because he didn't want to have to give freezing to a pregnant woman. Maybe that wasn't the reason.

I would also be interested to see if people in the dental industry have a higher rate of MS. I have a friend who is a dental assistant who has MS and gets regular boosters of the Hep B vaccine (mercury containing no doubt).

[Julia C.]

My own childhood dentist cannot practice dentistry anymore, because his hands shake too much. Neurological damage from mercury exposure possibly?

[Liseth]

Something is for sure! Mercury is toxic! whether it's injected, or inadvertently inhaled or eaten!!

My holistic Dentist actually talked about in his live presentation on my show! Check it out it's right at the beginning

http://chicmommyusa.com/2009/08/dr-ted-herrman-dmd-holistic-dentist-in-momtv/

[LaneysMom]

Not to forget the fluoride... I recently got into a "discussion" with my son's dentist about how I don't want him to receive an extra-strength fluoride treatment (or any fluoride for that matter). The dentist's response was to assure me that its perfectly safe and he even gives it to his 2-year-old. That's obviously someone who's gone a bit mental.

[k]

I had two amalgams placed between pregnancies. Incidentally my son is on the spectrum. I also got very sick for three years after that and had terrible sinus problems, including two sinus surgeries and had to have my tonsils removed.....I am sure (sarcasm) that it is all just coincidence......

[Guri]

Dental amalgams have been used for 150 years,
while autism was very rare if not non-existent.
Wouldn't that mean that dental amalgams could only be a contributing factor, perhaps through synergistic toxicity with aluminum in vaccines?