Are 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. Composites should be BPA free including similar chemicals like BPS.
In addition, it is best to avoid sealants on your child’s teeth as these contain very high levels of BPA or similar chemicals like BPS 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 Cavities 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? High vitamin 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.
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.
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.
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!
I have had sealants on my teeth since youth. Is there anything one can do after the fact?
You can contact me directly at [email protected] or at [email protected]
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!
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.
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.
You can go to the International Academy of Medicine & Oral Toxicity’s websit at 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.
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.
Oy.
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?