Jul 142012
(I can’t get the formatting to hold)
Note: the Canadian Dental Assoc, like the American Dental Assoc, is seen as an industry group.
Dave: There is something else that I came across last night that is a little disturbing and I’m not sure what is going on but may be valuable for your conversations. The summary is that it appears that the Food and medical devices bureau (Health Canada) has never approved amalgams. They are however responsible for the safety of its use (if that makes any sense).
Health Canada Response to the Canadian Dental Association
The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) had on their website some ‘questions and answers’ about amalgam which was effectively their policy statement about amalgam. In 1996 Dr Richard Tobin, director of Health Canada’s Medical Devices Bureau, urged the dental association to correct wrong information about amalgam fillings it has been sending to dentists: 510
Canadian Dental Association (CDA) information:
Q. Is dental amalgam approved for use in Canada?
A. Yes, dental amalgam is approved for use in Canada by Health Protection Branch.
Rebuttal by Dr. Richard Tobin, Canada Health:
‘ This statement is categorically false. Dental amalgam has never undergone pre-market review in Canada because it was in use before the Medical Devices Regulations were established. The CDA previously published this misinformation in a paper in the CDA Journal in May 1995. At that time, we informed the CDA of this error, but CDA has repeated it here. ‘
Canadian Dental Association (CDA)
A. Scientific literature on the topic, as a whole, supports the position that amounts released are generally less than mercury picked up from natural sources.
Dr Richard Tobin, Canada Health:
“This may be a misleading over-simplification. The World Health Organization states that dental amalgam is the largest single source of mercury exposure for persons not occupationally exposed (World Health Organization, 1991. Inorganic Mercury. Environmental Health Criteria 1 18. International Program on Chemical Safety. Geneva).”
Robert Gammal BDS � 2011 22
Canadian Dental Association (CDA)
Q. Is the mercury which is released from fillings absorbed into the body?
A. Yes, but in extremely small amounts, i.e. in MILLIONTHS of a gram (this is very small amount, 0.000001 grams).
Dr Richard Tobin, Canada Health:
“This answer is rather condescending and insulting to the intelligence of readers. By emphasizing only how small a microgram is it implies that a microgram of toxic material could not be harmful. What is significant is not how many zeroes there are in a microgram, but how many micrograms of mercury are released by and compared to the number of micrograms required to cause illness. The fact is that a level of only one hundred millionths of a gram of mercury per gram of Creatinine in urine is considered to indicate clinical mercury poisoning.”
This from Robert Gammal’s letter available here http://www.robertgammal.com/PDFs/Open-Letter-to-Deans.pdf. I
don’t know if you have read this, but it is a damn good document.
don’t know if you have read this, but it is a damn good document.
B) In addition to this, the wording on the Health Canada website (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/md-im/applic-demande/pubs/dent_amalgam-eng.php) on amalgam still remains as this.
In January 1994 dental filling materials were explicitly excluded from the list of devices subject to pre-market review under the Medical Devices Regulations.
Even though dental materials are not subject to pre-market review, they are subject to the general safety provisions of the Food and Drugs Act and Medical Devices Regulations. The Branch has the authority to regulate the sale of such materials if there is a safety concern. To date, no regulatory measures have been invoked with regard to amalgam.
C) Then I find this, http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/consultation/md-im/md_draft_rec_stand_im_ebauche_norm_lst-eng.php
It appears that there is some reviewing of amalgam and other previously exempted dental materials. This isn’t the environmental exemption, this is the medical devices deal. Did we prepare anything for this… I didn’t know of this until now. Time to have some conversations and see what is going on.