Environmental Concerns Not Even A Topic of Discussion at ADA Conference?

I took EGirl to the dentist last week right before school started, to get the shining of the pearly-whites out of the way before life got more hectic. My dentist and I chatted once again about the topics that intrigue me: the safety of fluoride (whether in water or toothpaste) and the possibility of a link to bone cancer in boys (see this Eugene Weekly review of the issue from 2005 for a great overview of the controversy); sealants and whether BPA leaching out of them is a health concern; and mercury fillings' wastewater as an environmental hazard. My dentist is pretty comfortable with these topics, well-read, and open to discussion. She didn't come down definitively on any of the issues (hot button topics that need more research in all cases). We both were pretty middle of the road in terms of seeing a true need for cavity prevention (literal British teeth in our family), but she did comment that the ADA conference, which she recently attended, didn't address any of my questions. She suggested I write the ADA to tell them to at least put these issues on the docket for their next round. Even if these topics turn out to be non-issues, you'd think dentists would want to discuss fully how to allay their patients' fears given the level of BPA press alone this year.

So, thanks for the suggestion, doc! Done and done. If y'all want to follow suit, here's my letter:

ADA
American Dental Association
211 East Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611-2678

To Whom it May Concern:

I recently took my child to the dentist and had a number of questions for my dental health provider. Apparently, none of my questions were addressed at the last ADA conference (which she'd just attended). I would like to outline my areas of interest in the hope that the ADA will be able to discuss and continue to study these issues within your professional community. I am aware that the ADAs official positions on fluoride and BPA are on the ADA.org website, but in both cases the ADA acknowledges that more research needs to be done to determine if a health concern exists. Please continue to discuss these topics and to inform the public about updated studies of the safety of these chemicals.

1.Fluoride

With regard to fluoridation of water, as the ADA states on its website, there is a controversy regarding a possible link between fluoride supplementation and bone cancer in boys (my dentist mentioned that this was a "hot topic" in Sweden at the moment and that the issue seems to arise cyclically).

While reading up on the issue, I came across the following additional environmental concerns about fluoride: 1)that the type of fluoride used in municipal water treatment may have persistent organic pollutants bound to it (because "most is industrial waste: sodium
fluoride, sodium fluorosilicate and fluorosilicic acid from phosphate fertilizer, glass, steel and aluminum production. Unlike organic fluorine, these compounds come with pollutant hitchhikers that get a free ride into public water supplies." (via ScienceDaily) and 2)even the levels of fluoride considered safe for humans may be affecting marine organisms.

Regarding the possibility of a bone cancer link, the ADA in 2006 put out a press release noting that it "will require scientific confirmation to confirm or refute the findings." I wonder if there's been any more recent research on this topic? What about the other areas of concern ie the ingestion of persistent organic pollutants and the effects of fluoride on marine life?

2.Sealants

Regarding the BPA in sealants, some research seems to indicate that it may be soluble in saliva at high levels during or immediately after application. (In the March 2006 Journal of the
American Dental Association, researchers tested 14 volunteers immediately after sealant application and found that patients who received Delton Light Cure (LC) Opaque brand absorbed about 110 micrograms of BPA, 20 times that absorbed by recipients of another brand, Helioseal F (5.5 micrograms). Delton Light Cure (LC) leached amounts similar to those that caused developmental toxicity in rodent studies and, at 42.8 parts per billion (ppb), are higher than the
highest amount found in canned food, 38 ppb.... ") Is there an alternative to BPA-based sealants that is effective and safe? I tend to try to avoid potentially toxic chemicals (like endocrine disruptors) even if the jury's still out because I have young children with developing bodies. If I am getting rid of a baby bottle that may or may not leach minute amounts of BPA, I certainly want to avoid a massive ingestion of BPA during the application of a tooth sealant.

The ADA's public statement on Bisphenol-A concludes that "any concern about potential BPA exposure from dental composites or sealants is unwarranted at this time. When compared with all other sources of BPA, these dental materials pose significantly lower exposure concerns." While it seems that the aforementioned study might contradict that statement, I am no scientist (just a concerned mother). So I am thrilled to read that "the ADA is a professional association of dentists who remain committed to the public’s oral health. As such, we strongly support additional research into human exposure to BPA and any health effects it may cause." Could you update me as to the status of the BPA research the ADA's aware of? Is the ADA continuing with an internal dialogue on this matter?

3. Mercury Pollution

It's my understanding that research has shown mercury amalgalm fillings to be safe for humans -- but it sounds like the wastewater leaving dentists' offices may be polluting our water supply.

"Mercury is a large component of dental fillings, but it is not believed to pose immediate health risks in that form. When exposed to sulfate-reducing bacteria, however, mercury undergoes a chemical change and becomes methylated, making it a potent, ingestible neurotoxin. While the major source of neurotoxic mercury comes from coal-fired electric power plants, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at Urbana-Champaign say mercury entering drain
water from dental clinics and offices is also a source. "We found the highest levels of methyl mercury ever reported in any environmental water sample," said Karl Rockne, associate professor of environmental engineering at UIC and corresponding author of the study that appeared online March 12 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology." (via EurekaAlert)

What is the ADA's stance on this topic? Is there any safe alternative to mercury-based fillings? How might dentists mitigate the environmental pollution associated with drain water?

Thank you very much. I am not trying to be alarmist about any of these topics, and your website does a good job of addressing the ADA's stance on both fluoride and BPA. I'd just love to see further study and conversation about all of these topics.

Best,

Read more!

Fishing for Absolution

Organizing the abode and eating well. Valid goals. I am sure that you already got the news that wild salmon is well beyond the reach of most middle class Americans better for you but like me, may occasionally be unable to present a cogent argument as to why this is so.

Environmental Working Group to the rescue once again! Always buy wild salmon because it's got less mercury than farmed salmon, which is fed scary bits of other animals and/or genetically modified monocrops blecch has problematic polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs which have no safe ingestion level. For us on the East Coast, this means no salmon if you want to eat local. Alas, there is no wild Atlantic salmon anymore....

Other, more affordable good choices? I was just pondering this at the fish case yesterday when I could not for the life of me remember whether I should buy that cheap frozen multi-pack of orange roughy (hah! I knew I shouldn't get it! Not sustainably fished and high in mercury! But I had to go back and look at my November 11 post). I really will print out a wallet card that has all of the permutations I care about on it soon, but until then, repeat after me: mahi-mahi, haddock, tilapia, flounder and sole are not only low in PCBs, but mercury as well. And you can't go wrong with a can of sardines. Obviously, women who haven't had kids yet (nasty chemicals accumulate in your body and then go right into your infant when you breastfeed), pregnant/lactating women, and small children need to be especially careful about which fish they eat.

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Via Baby Toolkit awhile back, the word of the day is...

scurryfunge: a hasty tidying of the house between the time you see a neighbor coming and the time she knocks on the door. (Informal English).

Now, what might we call it if, say, a person knew that a good friend was visiting soon and, eh, decided to attend to pressing etymological matters and researching paper-making techniques rather than tidying? Even if the host in question had an unrelenting head cold?? Hmmmm? (Languorhovelling? Procrastisqualoration?)

Love this essay on gratitude, from Chris Glass, about unexpected hospitality and pleasure. Suffice it to say, that, amongst other things, the author learns about the joys of having an unwrapping "compadre." And I think he might extrapolate that togetherness trumps the downside of squalor. Wild salmon lox or no. Read more!

Kissing Kermit?

Wow, I never thought I'd say this, but maybe we should let the states handle matters once and for all. While the FDA's basically letting beauty product companies do what they will (forget the bunnies; let's not test for safety at all), Minnesota's going to ban mercury in cosmetics (thanks Grist for the link) and California, via its Safe Cosmetics Act, requires companies to disclose carcinogens in beauty products.

You'd think that banning mercury in cosmetics and forcing companies to reveal their cancer-causing ingredients might be, um, unnecessary, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

EWG's Skin Deep cosmetics database is a great resource for figuring out what's in your current stash (you can search by brand or just enter ingredients). But I haven't spent time scoping out much more than my baby's bubble bath and soap so far, so this topic is timely for me. We already avoid parabens in shampoo/conditioner/lotions, don't use air freshener (ick) and avoid perfume/fragrances (pthalates). But it seems I need to delve further. For a quick list of ingredients to avoid, check out this Q & A - Are Your Beauty Products Safe? from Care2. I plan to check out the product recommendations in this National Geographic Green Guide lowdown on organic makeup, and to print out/carry their Dirty Dozen guide to unsafe personal care ingredients and Smart Shopper's Non-Food Labels Guide.

Fake Plastic Fish's musings about makeup include a link to this article from Common Ground about the dangers of synthetic chemicals:

"It’s your story and mine because all of us alive on the planet today share something in common that was unshared by countless generations of humans who lived before us: we carry man-made pollutants inside our blood, urine and breast milk."

This makes me want to get serious about figuring out safer makeup for that holiday event: lead in lipstick?? (Echoes of Sandra Steingraber, who initially inspired me to start paying attention to persistent organic pollutants in breastmilk.) Fake Plastic Fish's blog comments are interesting; her readers have recs for specific brands of eco/safe cosmetics and one woman even recommends beet juice! My SIL makes her own lip balm; this seems attainable.

Word of mouth may be in order, though. I've been meaning to ask and see what green makeup other folks wear (and not the Halloween kind). I don't go the Tammi Bakker route but it would be nice not to have to worry about kissing my kids when I do toss on a little lipstick. I would love practical advice from anyone who's thought this through. Read more!

Sleeping Like A Neurologically Impaired Baby: Holy Mackerel! Eat Herring Instead

Well, the experts have been flopping a bit on this issue but the basic gist is that there is mercury in the really healthy deep sea fish that have high levels of beneficial omega-3s in them. And since mercury's particularly damaging for small people, pregnant or nursing women and children have had to closely watch their fish intake. (Which is a bummer, since among other benefits it seems that a high intake of the DHA fatty acids in fish could account for better sleep in infants, no small feat.) There are handy lists of fish to avoid, mercury calculators like those here and here, and lists of fish that are safe to eat. Recently it seemed like the evidence weighed in favoring eating more fish over avoiding it for groups watching mercury exposure, but research showing that it's better to consume fish than not while pregnant may have been funded by -- surprise -- the fish industry. So we're back to the longstanding advice that women of childbearing/nursing age should eat 2 servings/week of fish and limit their consumption to specific species (the fish industry study recommended greater consumption without regard to species). One fish that's been hotly debated because it's a beloved kid sandwich food is tuna, which the research shows you should probably limit no matter the type (albacore vs. light).

Testing of fish oil has shown that most is not contaminated with mercury (your grandmother was right about that cod liver oil!) but since supplements aren't heavily regulated you have to choose brands carefully. American Heart has helpful guidelines on supplementing with fish oil.

In a parallel vein, lots of enviro organizations have lists of what's sustainably fished. This site helpfully lets you track down environmentally conscious restaurants serving sustainably harvested fish. And Environmental Defense has a downloadable pocket reference guide to enviro choices re sustainably fished species. But my favorite is the NRDC guide, which combines the mercury warnings with the sustainability info in their wallet card.

The bottom line? Avoid tuna, shark, tilefish (golden bass or snapper), swordfish, orange roughy, bluefish, and sea bass. Eat as much as you want of catfish, anchovies, clams, crabs, pollock, oysters, wild salmon (not farmed, which has PCBs), sardines, sole, herring, tilapia and trout. Also, try to eat lots of fish high in omega-3s like herring, sardines, oysters and salmon. Check out the lists for further fine-tuning of this advice, and try to eat a variety of the safe fish. Read more!