Are composite fillings dangerous for children? A new study published in the Journal Pediatrics suggests so and is sure to have parents scrambling to figure out how to best deal with their children’s cavities.
Savvy parents have known for some time to avoid silver fillings given that mercury, a potent neurotoxin, is one of the key materials used to make them.
Now, examination of over 500 children over a five year period has indicated that even some white composite fillings are problematic to children’s neurology.
The likely culprit? BPA.
Many Composite Fillings Contain BPA
Many white composite fillings contain bisGMA, a synthetic material containing bispenol-A, more commonly known as BPA.
BPA is a well known hormone disrupting chemical linked to all manner of health problems in children and adults alike.
In this new study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the New England Research Institutes, researchers suggest that composite fillings containing BPA degrade over time from chewing, thereby releasing ever increasing amounts of the chemical.
Children With BPA Composite Fillings Have More Behavior Problems
The most shocking aspect of this report is that children with silver (mercury) fillings displayed FEWER behavioral problems at the 5 year checkup than children with composite fillings!
In fact, researchers noted that children with silver fillings did not appear to suffer ill health effects at all, while those with BPA containing composite fillings were more likely to suffer from impaired psychosocial function such as depression, anxiety, and other forms of social stress.
The bottom line?
Be sure to query your dentist thoroughly before allowing any composite material to be put into your child’s mouth. Composites should be BPA free including similar chemicals like BPS.
In addition, it is best to avoid sealants on your child’s teeth as these contain very high levels of BPA or similar chemicals like BPS as well!
Holistic oriented dentists are already well aware of the potential problems with composite fillings as they test each individual patient for sensitivity using either blood tests or kinesiology to various filling materials before selecting the appropriate one that is the most benign for that patient’s particular biology.
Avoid Cavities With Diet
Better yet, avoid cavities in the first place through Traditional Diet. Traditional cultures rarely suffered from tooth decay as noted by researcher Dr. Weston A. Price, with liberal consumption of sacred foods containing Vitamins A/D/K2 by growing children the notable reason why.
The number one whole food supplement containing A/D/K2 for avoiding and even reversing cavities? High vitamin cod liver oil and butter oil each and every day!
If despite your best efforts, you do discover that your child has a cavity, learn to reverse the decay and avoid getting the tooth filled with the dietary guidelines outlined in the must have book Cure Tooth Decay: Heal and Prevent Cavities With Nutrition, by Rami Nagel.
Did you happen to fix anything? I am so overly frustrated with my kids cavities!
Sarah, at the end of your article you say that if despite your best efforts your child still has cavities then reverse them with diet. I thought this diet was supposed to make cavities impossible. My 3 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with 6 major cavities. This despite the clo/butter oil we have been taking and the traditional diet we have been on for 4 years? She has no other health or developmental problems, and the rest of my family (3 kids) are the same. no one else in the family (parents included) has EVER had a cavity. I am frustrated and concerned that there must be something wrong with her body for her not to be getting enough minerals from our diet to keep her teeth healthy. We eat a variety of organ meat and eat them at least once a week! We were doing sprouted flour, which I have now eliminated all grains temporarily. I have ordered Ramiel’s book, but all of the testimonials I have read are of people going from SAD with cavities onto Weston Price and cavities heal. If you are already on Weston Price, where do you go from there? Thanks so much for writing on this topic!!!
I know it has been a long time since your comment, but just wondering what you did with your child and how your daughter is doing now. We have been following the diet recommended by Rahm Nigel (in general – but we have not cut down on grains completely). My daughters teeth continued to get worse and worse every day to the point that she has to get 6 of them extracted and a lot of other teeth has to be filled. I am totally confused on what to be filled with and to put the crowns. Please let me know what you have done and any other feedback/comment you have.
that’s peculiar. Maybe it’s an absorption problem and she isn’t absorbing the necessary nutrients for some reason..
I SO AGREE WITH YOUR POST ! As much as possible, I try to avoid dental fillings and procedures, because these just do nothing to cure or prevent cavities and tooth decay! I’m a believer of Dr. Weston Price’s findings about nutrition’s impact on dental health. And the cod liver oil you mentioned is something I and my family have incorporated into our diet. It works! By changing our diet, eating nutritious foods, oil pulling and using miswak, I and my family have been able to CURE our cavities!
OK – so we know that these things are bad for us and we know that there are holistic dentists out there somewhere, but if you live in a location that is nowhere near a holistic dentist, where can I get the information about the “better” filling materials so that I can go to my mainstream dentist armed with the correct information? It seems a few of the recent posts have been great at identifying problems, but not so good at advising people as to what to do, where to go, how to resolve issues.
from Australia…..
Interesting! I had sealants put on my teeth some years ago now, because the dentist said I needed them due to deep grooves in my teeth (this is despite the fact that at 22 I’d never had a cavity). I think the sealants have gradually worn away, and I know after reading this I won’t be getting more (I’m 39 now, and haven’t seen a dentist in 14 years… don’t believe I’ve got any decay, either, although my diet has been variously SAD and other things during that time).
Of my kids, only my oldest son has seen a dentist, although I’ll be taking my youngest son soon. This is partly cause they get a free voucher to go the year they turn 12, and my oldest needed a baby tooth removed (as his adult tooth grew behind it and it wasn’t budging on its own) and my youngest has the same issue, but with a canine. My youngest son also will need braces, as I’m pretty sure there’s no holistic way to deal with crooked teeth!
However, I do know that they will DEFINITELY not be getting any cavities filled (not that my oldest son had any when he went in). If I find out my youngest has a cavity, I’ll do all I can to heal it myself! My daughter has never been to a dentist either (she’s now 10) and has never had any problems with her teeth.
I will agree that in some cases bad teeth DO seem to be genetic, and good teeth aren’t always because one eats a fabulous diet! As I’ve said, I’ve had no cavities in 39 years, and for the majority of that time I’ve eaten a SAD diet. It’s only been the past few months, really, that I’ve been eating a more traditional diet (and even then I’ve fallen off the wagon at times). I know a lot of people my age who not only have fillings, but who wear dentures because they’ve lost teeth, so I consider myself extremely fortunate that I have good dental health!
And mercury fillings are worse! Best to stop eating anything with sugar in it!
sure.. they’re bpa free.. great.. what other toxic materials are they made of? bpa is just one thing they’ve let us focus on as the big bad.