Composite fillings dangerous for children? A new study published in the Journal Pediatrics suggests so and is sure to have parents scrambling to figure out how to best deal with their children’s cavities.
Savvy parents have known for some time to avoid silver fillings given that mercury, a potent neurotoxin, is one of the key materials used to make them.
Now, examination of over 500 children over a five year period has indicated that even some white composite fillings are problematic to children’s neurology.
The likely culprit? BPA.
Many Composite Fillings Contain BPA
Many white composite fillings contain bisGMA, a synthetic material containing bispenol-A, more commonly known as BPA.
BPA is a well known hormone disrupting chemical linked to all manner of health problems in children and adults alike.
In this new study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the New England Research Institutes, researchers suggest that composite fillings containing BPA degrade over time from chewing, thereby releasing ever increasing amounts of the chemical.
Children With BPA Composite Fillings Have More Behavior Problems
The most shocking aspect of this report is that children with silver (mercury) fillings displayed FEWER behavioral problems at the 5 year checkup than children with composite fillings!
In fact, researchers noted that children with silver fillings did not appear to suffer ill health effects at all, while those with BPA containing composite fillings were more likely to suffer from impaired psychosocial function such as depression, anxiety, and other forms of social stress.
The bottom line?
Be sure to query your dentist thoroughly before allowing any composite material to be put into your child’s mouth to be sure it is made of BPA free materials.
In addition, never allow sealants to be used on your child’s teeth as these contain BPA as well!
Holistic oriented dentists are already well aware of the potential problems with composite fillings as they test each individual patient for sensitivity using either blood tests or kinesiology to various filling materials before selecting the appropriate one that is the most benign for that patient’s particular biology.
Avoid Composite Fillings and Amalgams With Diet
Better yet, avoid cavities in the first place through Traditional Diet. Traditional cultures rarely suffered from tooth decay as noted by researcher Dr. Weston A. Price, with liberal consumption of sacred foods containing Vitamins A/D/K2 by growing children the notable reason why.
The number one whole food supplement containing A/D/K2 for avoiding and even reversing cavities? Fermented cod liver oil and butter oil each and every day!
If despite your best efforts, you do discover that your child has a cavity, learn to reverse the decay and avoid getting the tooth filled with the dietary guidelines outlined in the must have book Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities With Nutrition, by Rami Nagel.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
So if you have existing fillings (I have the silver) and when I was young, they sealed my molars b/c they were groovy…should I leave them in place?
Also, can you heal where you have fillings and remineralize those teeth?
No you cannot heal a tooth that has been drilled.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Behavior Problems Higher in Children With Composite Fillings
Interesting.
I’ve wondered about the danger of composites for awhile. It’s good to know now which ones are a problem and which ones are not.
There are some sealant materials that do not contain BPA.
That’s good to know, but it’s still bad to do sealants as the teeth continue to decay, cavities form under the sealants and the teeth crumble away after a few years. Sealants are a big moneymaker for dentists and they cause more problems than they solve. Diet is the only way to prevent cavities as they come from the inside out, not the outside in (although keeping teeth clean on the outside may delay the inevitable decay for a period of time).
A sealant should NEVER be placed on a tooth that has decay. Sealants are only indicated for teeth with no active caries lesion.
Sugar and simple carbs do lead to dental caries from the outside.
Lorri, the tooth still rots underneath the sealant even if there is no decay at the time the sealant is put on the tooth. Teeth decay from the inside out not the outside in. This is why sealants are always a bad idea. They don’t protect from decay at all.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Medical Insurance: In Pursuit of Health?
This is interesting information. Actually, my son has had sealants on his molars for about 15 years now and he has never had any more trouble with decay, nor have any of his teeth crumbled away! They seem to be healthy and strong.
But, I wish I had known better back then, as I would probably have avoided the sealants altogether and also I would have asked more questions about the composite fillings we asked the dentist to fill his teeth with (over amalgam), although I don’t know that there was a great deal of choice in those days.
I think it would be really good to research if there is anything people can do, if they do have composite fillings and sealants, as it obviously isn’t possible to go back in time.
If his diet was good, this is what prevented the decay, not the sealants.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Medical Insurance: In Pursuit of Health?
Don’t you think that the correlation could just be diet? I mean, I’m not a fan of BPA, but if they are eating a SAD diet and have bad teeth, I’d bet they have major gut problems too.
@Rebekkah If that were true, the children with the amalgams and nonBPA composite fillings would have had behavior problems too and they did not.
@Rebekkah although for sure gut problems would contribute to an already existing problem!
Great article. I was about to have 2 mercury fillings replaced. Good information to know. Also, as an aside, I assume that skate oil and butter oil have the same effect on teeth. I ask because I have osteopenia and think that the increased vitamin D in skate oil might be more beneficial to me than CLO. Do you think that’s accurate?
True. I’m just going to work really hard on not letting them get cavities in the first place!
I haven’t had a single case of tooth cavity since I started eating traditional several years ago (and I don’t use toothpaste either). Sadly my mouth is filled with both composite and amalgam fillings from earlier years (if only I was raised on a proper diet I might never have had to deal with any).
Did they correct for the fact that composites are more expensive and parents/families who choose and pay for them may have other factors present?
Oy.
So what’s a poor guy to do?! We’ve been eating a WAP based diet for over a year now. My wife had her mercury fillings replaced with composite fillings. We’re in our 40s and damage has been done to our teeth from eating a SAD diet most of our adult lives. If you had a cavity with mercury fillings and want to replace it or if a molar has a crack in it or, God forbid, another cavity… What do we do? Sometimes it feels like you can’t win for losing.
There are BPA free fillings and it is always best to get amalgams replaced by a holistic dentist so that the best material for your individual biology is selected.
Don’t let just any old dentist do this work which can have such a big impact on your health. It’s worth the extra cost to get a holistic dentist.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Behavior Problems Higher in Children With Composite Fillings
How do you find a “holistic oriented dentist”?
Call and ask three questions: Do they use flouride, do they use amalgam fillings, do they do blood and/or muscle testing to determine the right material for fillings. If the first two questions are a yes and the third a no, the dentist is a fail. No need to waste your time on a consultation that will go nowhere. Call on the phone instead an find out fast.
To get a shortlist of possible holistic dentists, ask at your healthfood store or from health conscious friends.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Behavior Problems Higher in Children With Composite Fillings
You can go to the International Academy of Medicine & Oral Toxicity’s websit at http://www.iaomt.org/patients/index.asp and click on “Find a Dentist/Physician”.
My state, Alaska, only has 3 listed but there is a Holistic Dentistry Practice in town that has 4 dentists but only 2 of them are listed. Knowing that, I have to figure this may not be an exhaustive list ; there may be a dentist in your area even if they are not listed.
Toxicteeth.org is a good place to start. I found my holistic dentist through this site.
I was a holistic dental hygienist for 17 years in Minnesota. I am a homeopath as well. Finding a holistic dental office is hard. And at my last job I was let go because of my holistic philosophy. Sadly, my holistic dentist died in 2010. I have written a book Whole-istic Dentistry: Balancing Conventional Dental Care with Ancient Wisdom. The book tells the reader what questions to ask a conventional dentist in order to receive more holistic care. Materials testing is key to getting products that are compatible with your body. If you have fillings and cannot afford to have re-treatment, then detox is key to maintaining balance. The people are the only ones who will change the big institutions. . .If every new patient calling a dental office requested materials testing or went someplace else. . . the dentist would have to educate themselves or not survive in the market place. People have the power to change dental care but they have to ask for it. Take Care of Yourself!
The book is available at Amazon or my website in book or electronic form.
Thank you for mentioning this resource Bette Jo!
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist\’s last post: Behavior Problems Higher in Children With Composite Fillings
How do I find a dentist who will do materials testing to find a compatible material? My husband is booked for removing 4 amalgams this evening, and I’ve just found out the replacement material has BPA in it. Looks like I will need to cancel which will be a big disappointment. I’ve been searching for a holistic dentist in a reasonable driving distance for over 5 years, and still come up short.
You can contact me directly at bettejo@solutionsforyoursmile.com or at bjohome7@hotmail.com
I have had sealants on my teeth since youth. Is there anything one can do after the fact?
My kids have never yet been to a dentist, except once when my 3-year-old was complaining of his teeth hurting (turned out it wasn’t the teeth, it was the salivary glands as part of an infection he had), but the dentist didn’t do anything but look in his mouth. They’ve never had any treatments.
We will avoid the dentist as much as we can, keep them on their FCLO, and seek a holistic dentist when they are a bit older — thankfully we have a strong natural community in our area!
Kate @ Modern Alternative Mama\’s last post: Real Food Confessions: Chick-Fil-A
Rebekkah… Don’t be too hard on yourself or your kids if they do get a few. Cavities and bad teeth in general is partly genetic.
I mean, for sure watch diet and oral hygiene as they play a part too but so does family history.
Many biological dentists belong to IAOMT. Here is the search page to help you find a member in your area: http://iaomt.org/patients/search/index.php. I see a dentist on the list who allows his patients to use electro-dermal screening to determine which materials to use. Probably none of the members of this organization are providers for insurance companies, but I think it is worth the money I pay to know that my teeth and the materials used to repair them are not creating more problems for me. I hope this helps narrow down the search for a holistic dentist.
I use a dentist listed and they take dental insurance just like any other dentist. Some of the services they provide are not covered by dental insurance (like Vitamin C IVs during mercury filling removal). Services such as that are out of pocket of course. I probably couldn’t have gone to them if I had to pay everything out of pocket.
sure.. they’re bpa free.. great.. what other toxic materials are they made of? bpa is just one thing they’ve let us focus on as the big bad.
And mercury fillings are worse! Best to stop eating anything with sugar in it!
Interesting! I had sealants put on my teeth some years ago now, because the dentist said I needed them due to deep grooves in my teeth (this is despite the fact that at 22 I’d never had a cavity). I think the sealants have gradually worn away, and I know after reading this I won’t be getting more (I’m 39 now, and haven’t seen a dentist in 14 years… don’t believe I’ve got any decay, either, although my diet has been variously SAD and other things during that time).
Of my kids, only my oldest son has seen a dentist, although I’ll be taking my youngest son soon. This is partly cause they get a free voucher to go the year they turn 12, and my oldest needed a baby tooth removed (as his adult tooth grew behind it and it wasn’t budging on its own) and my youngest has the same issue, but with a canine. My youngest son also will need braces, as I’m pretty sure there’s no holistic way to deal with crooked teeth!
However, I do know that they will DEFINITELY not be getting any cavities filled (not that my oldest son had any when he went in). If I find out my youngest has a cavity, I’ll do all I can to heal it myself! My daughter has never been to a dentist either (she’s now 10) and has never had any problems with her teeth.
I will agree that in some cases bad teeth DO seem to be genetic, and good teeth aren’t always because one eats a fabulous diet! As I’ve said, I’ve had no cavities in 39 years, and for the majority of that time I’ve eaten a SAD diet. It’s only been the past few months, really, that I’ve been eating a more traditional diet (and even then I’ve fallen off the wagon at times). I know a lot of people my age who not only have fillings, but who wear dentures because they’ve lost teeth, so I consider myself extremely fortunate that I have good dental health!
OK – so we know that these things are bad for us and we know that there are holistic dentists out there somewhere, but if you live in a location that is nowhere near a holistic dentist, where can I get the information about the “better” filling materials so that I can go to my mainstream dentist armed with the correct information? It seems a few of the recent posts have been great at identifying problems, but not so good at advising people as to what to do, where to go, how to resolve issues.
from Australia…..
I SO AGREE WITH YOUR POST ! As much as possible, I try to avoid dental fillings and procedures, because these just do nothing to cure or prevent cavities and tooth decay! I’m a believer of Dr. Weston Price’s findings about nutrition’s impact on dental health. And the cod liver oil you mentioned is something I and my family have incorporated into our diet. It works! By changing our diet, eating nutritious foods, oil pulling and using miswak, I and my family have been able to CURE our cavities!
Sarah, at the end of your article you say that if despite your best efforts your child still has cavities then reverse them with diet. I thought this diet was supposed to make cavities impossible. My 3 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with 6 major cavities. This despite the clo/butter oil we have been taking and the traditional diet we have been on for 4 years? She has no other health or developmental problems, and the rest of my family (3 kids) are the same. no one else in the family (parents included) has EVER had a cavity. I am frustrated and concerned that there must be something wrong with her body for her not to be getting enough minerals from our diet to keep her teeth healthy. We eat a variety of organ meat and eat them at least once a week! We were doing sprouted flour, which I have now eliminated all grains temporarily. I have ordered Ramiel’s book, but all of the testimonials I have read are of people going from SAD with cavities onto Weston Price and cavities heal. If you are already on Weston Price, where do you go from there? Thanks so much for writing on this topic!!!