Say "cheese" and smile big! Both news stories that caught my eye this morning were related to your mouth.
First, metal fillings.
I've always heard that the mercury in metal fillings (the kind I have) could be toxic. I had a friend a few years back who had all her fillings dug out and replaced with the ceramic kind.
That seems a bit extreme to me, but I hate having things done to my mouth.
Anyway, good thing I waited, because here comes a story that says that older metal fillings are not likely to be toxic. The researchers compared fillings that were 20 years old, like mine, with newer amalgam fillings, and found that the older fillings were not toxic.
However, if I read the story correctly, the reason the older fillings were no longer harmful is that all the mercury that was going to leach from the filling had already done so. Argh.
I quote:
"The scientists found that the surfaces of metal fillings seem to lose up to 95 percent of their mercury over time. Loss of potentially toxic mercury from amalgam may be due to evaporation, exposure to some kinds of dental hygiene products, exposure to certain foods, or other factors."
So I guess this means leave your old fillings alone, but don't get any new metal fillings.
Read the story: Fillings and Mercury
Tooth Whitening
The American Dental Association is apparently concerned about non-dentists whitening teeth, and has asked the FDA to review and classify tooth-whitening agents.
Now that I read the story carefully, this sounds like an effort by the dentists to keep non-dentists from muscling in on this lucrative practice area.
I had my teeth whitened by my dentist, maybe seven or eight years ago, and it cost me between $300 and $400, if I remember correctly. Now, you can buy products at the grocery store for less than $50 to do the job.
But the dentists are concerned about businesses in malls, kiosks (drive-by tooth whitening?), salons, and cruise ships that offer tooth whitening.
Buyer beware.
@ Jeanne Sather 2009.
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