The case against mercury in dental fillings is not entirely urban legend nor quackery,
despite some colorful characters in its history.  (The Quackwatch website owner says
that he does not attempt to provide balanced reports; he says that information for 'the
other side' is freely available to anyone who looks.  His reports tend to be very
conservative and pro-status-quo.)

This is the website for the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicity:
<http://www.iaomt.org/>  A number of documents are available on their website
which give a different view of the history and research behind the anti-amalgam
movement.  Their motto is "Show us the science!"

As for the original question, the mom may find it reassuring to note that breastmilk
seems to have a compensating effect against mercury.  In populations with fairly high
mercury levels from fish consumption, with correspondingly high levels of mercury in
breastmilk, breastfed babies still have better development than non-breastfed
babies.  See
<http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/interactionprofiles/IP-breastmilk/ip03-c3.pdf> ,
particularly the paragraph at the bottom of the first page and beginning of second
page.

Margaret
LLLL
Longmont, CO

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 10:27:29 -0600, Shornick,Laurie
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Hi, I am new to the list and I have been enjoying reading and learning.
>
>One of my pet peeves is junk science though so I felt compelled to respond to
>the email about mercury in mother's milk. It would be sad to see the mother
>wean because of a belief in urban legend about mercury.
>
>I highly recommend an article on the internet by Stephen Barrett, M.D.
>entitled "The Mercury Amalgam Scam:
How Anti-Amalgamists Swindle People" This article offers a history of how this
>junk science got started and how it is perpetuated. It also cites numerous
>reputable primary references.
>
>The link to it is:
>http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mercury.html
>
>Hope this information helps.
>
>Laurie Shornick, Ph.D.
>St. Louis, MO

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