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Poisonous fillings back on agenda

The first amalgam-poisoning workshop for healthcare providers in South Africa is to be held from 14 to 16 October 2006.

The workshops will take a closer look at the possible risks tied to amalgam fillings.

According to a press release from the organisers, "Mercury, the most toxic non-radioactive metal known to man, continuously and slowly leaches out of the filling since the time it is placed, accumulates in the body, and eventually leads to toxic reactions."

"The current controversy surrounds whether enough mercury is released to affect the human body," the organisers said.

Fillings deemed safe
While the conference will be focussing on the possible adverse effects of amalgam fillings, it comes in the face of recent international research that has placed amalgam in a much better light.

Two studies published in the April 19 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association found amalgam fillings to be safe.

"We saw no observable differences in neuropsychological or kidney outcomes. I think the findings should be fairly reassuring," HealthDay quotes the lead author of one of the studies, David Bellinger, a professor of neurology and environmental health at Harvard Medical School and a senior research associate at Children's Hospital in Boston, as saying.

Conference details
Intercare Medical & Dental Centre in Glenfair, Pretoria, will be hosting this workshop scheduled to take place at Kievits Kroon Country Estate. Issues to be discussed will be, amongst others, the toxicology of mercury, the protocol for the safe handling of amalgam, the organs and systems affected by mercury, the health risks of mercury exposure and the clinical signs and symptoms of mercury toxicity.

Workshops will be presented by Dr Ilona Visser, a dentist from Cape Town, and Dr Fred van der Riet, a medical doctor also from Cape Town.

All individuals working in the medical, dental and wellness related fields, are invited to attend this workshop. Send an E-mail request to info@intercare.co.za for all the relevant details.

For more information you can also contact Helena Vorster on (012) 548 7331 or 082 920 5221. – (Health24)

Read more:
Oral health Centre
Green light for amalgum

October 2006

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