A report presented recently at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, an overwhelmingly conservative medical association, detailed the strong new evidence that Bisphenol A (BPA) interferes with the hormone system, either mimicking hormones or occupying their receptor sites, and this can cause serious health problems. According to Robert Carey, MD, president of the Endocrine Society, the Society issued this first-ever report on the issue because these hormone disrupting chemicals “affect everyone.” While the hormone issue is not new information, it’s remarkable in that an organization so entrenched in an allopathic worldview should now be getting on the anti-BPA bandwagon.
BPA is found in plastic baby bottles, in the linings of metal cans, and in dental sealants and composite fillings. While the FDA has continued to affirm the safety of BPA, Canada declared BPA toxic last year. The National Toxicology Program has expressed concern over the effect of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children. A group of thirty-eight leading research scientists published a statement that listed the serious risks posed by BPA. Yet AAHF’s petition to the FDA regarding the safety of BPA in dental sealants ramains unanswered.
A newly released study funded by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicity (IAOMT) and led by Carl Heltzel, PhD, found the amount of BPA released from composite fillings can vary widely. Under varying pH conditions, Dr. Heltzel found that composite dental filling materials at the high end of the scale released 4 to 5 times as much BPA as those materials on the lowest end of the scale. Dr. Leo Cashman discussed the study in “Bisphenol A Release Varies Widely Among Composite Fillings” in the current issue of Dental Truth, a publication of DAMS (Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions), a non-profit group based in St Paul, Minnesota. Their e-mail contact is [email protected].