Dangerous Dentistry

Hours in a dentist's chair are in themselves unpleasant, but they bring a sense of security, of satisfaction that time could not be better spent. Now comes the word from Germany that these visits are the causes of new misery. Some time ago, Professor Stock, famed Berlin chemist, published an article on the dangers of using amalgam* for fillings. One Professor His then decided to study the problem in his medical clinic. He took a group of workmen who had contact with mercury in their daily occupation, a group of patients whose only contact with mercury was the fillings of their teeth, a group of school dentists and dental nurses, who rolled and kneaded the amalgam. He found:

P: That definite mercurial poisoning was rare in dental patients, but that fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, soreness of the gums, gastric disturbances, all the early insidious manifestations of mercurial poisoning, were frequently encountered and in many instances completely removed with the removal of the fillings. Chemical analysis revealed the presence of dissolved mercury in the mouth.

P: That nearly all the nurses and dentists showed marked symptoms and two of them were definitely poisoned.

P: That copper amalgam fillings, so often used in filling children's teeth, constitute the greatest source of danger, but silver and gold amalgams have also found their victims.

P: Last week the Berlin correspondent of the American Medical Association Journal reported that these findings had led Dr. Stock to demand a ban on copper amalgam.

*Amalgam--an alloy of mercury with another metal or metals. Mercury is the only metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures and its alloys are pliable substances ranging from liquid to solid according to the amount of mercury used. They are mechanically convenient for use in dentistry.