Global Exposure: Lead found in Chinese made dental restorations in the US.

[Mika]

Good news brothers and sisters - just like China made toys, lead has been found in US dental restorations being outsourced to Chinese sweatshop laboratories.

This outsourcing is KILLING the US dental laboratory manufacturing sector (and employment by well trained & certified US technicians), and is exposing unaware patients to toxic dental work.


Global Exposure
http://www.nadl.org/jdtunbound/0408/exposure.pdf


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[Orrex]

1. Cue the anti-amalgamists in three... two...

:popcorn:

Lead toxicity is obviously a very serious matter and must be addressed quickly, but I fear that the anti-amalgam crowd will latch onto this story and use it to bolster claims that dental amalgam is already responsible for a wide range of neurological problems.

[Mika]

2. I don't use amalgam.

For those very reasons.

[TZ]

9. amalgam

Has nothing to do with the immunological disorders people ascribe to them. Anyone who has studied BIOLOGY knows that.
The fears over regular amalgam is internet generated disinformation bullshit.
Lead in it, however is an issue and I would bet dentists are upset. There is much more SCIENTIFIC evidence for the dangers of lead than the dangers of amalgam.
Now, cue the cut n paste alarmists who cite from wooshit sites!

[shockra]

11. After I had 3 amalgam fillings removed last summer...

Two of them very large and one of them leaking, a vicious case of kill-me-now shingles that I'd had on the palm of my hands for six months cleared up in two weeks. I had no idea this would happen, and had already tried everything under the sun to get rid of the torture. But it was the best thing that *could* have happened. Clearly, the mercury was a burden on my immune system.

And that's not even the half of it. I still have scads of fillings under 19 crowns and a bridge, and half a dozen root canals. If I get those out, who knows what would happen? I might be able to fly under my own power. :D

[trotsky]

12. I've had two huge amalgam fillings replaced by gold crowns...

one was two years ago, and one was just last week.

All my pimples disappeared, my knees don't ache, I've lost 10 lbs, my wife loves me, my dog came back, and I can get a boner again!

OK none of that is true, except for the part about my wife. Nor do I have any form of E.D. I didn't have any health problems with two teeth that were more amalgam than tooth, and things haven't gotten better or worse since replacing them. I still feel fine.

Just goes to show how valid anecdotal evidence is.

[Orrex]

13. After I had my amalgam fillings removed, Trotsky was able to get a boner again

It's amazing, really.


?

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Who knew "the good ole days" would be when our greatest fear was the mercury in the

fillings?

[Mika]

5. 99.99% of the Chinese restorations I've seen are inferior, imo. I wouldn't touch 'em.

The downward push on wages and insurance coverage is an upward surge for Chinese sweatshop labs (and for the US outsourcing centers that accommodate it).

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[CountAllVotes]

4. my MedicAlert bracelet was just recalled

seems the little "silver" beads in it are MADE IN CHINA OF LEAD! This type of bracelet is commonly used on children btw. :mad:

:dem: :kick:

[Mika]

6. Orthodontic appliances are being outsourced to China also.

Unregulated capitalism puts the lead in. :puke:

[liberal4truth]

10. Yeap. Just like with the leaded gasoline that the Ethyl Corporation foisted on Americans for years

until environmental regulations like installing catalytic converters on all automobiles, put and end to the lead contamination.

BTW, the soil near most roadways STILL have high levels of lead contamination from auto exhaust, even after 20 years of unleaded gasoline only, at the gas pumps.

[Mika]

7. Dentists React to News of Lead-Tainted Dental Crowns from Foreign Dental Labs

Dentists React to News of Lead-Tainted Dental Crowns from Foreign Dental Labs
http://openpr.com/news/41575/Dentists-React-to-News-of-Lead-Tainted-Dental-Crowns-from-Foreign-Dental-Labs.html

In light of recent reports of lead crowns manufactured in Chinese dental labs that may be contaminated with lead, dental practice management resource The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey of dentists on the topic of foreign dental laboratories. Two out of three dentists think that the current publicity is just a tempest in a teapot, while the remainder expect it to be the next big health scandal.

The scope of the threat is not clear, as further research has yet to be released. "We don't know if this is a crisis," a Washington dentist pointed out. "The labs and FDA need to test a large number of prosthetics that are produced in USA with foreign materials and in foreign countries."

When each dentist was asked whose responsibility it should be to protect the public from tainted dental work, the most common opinion (voiced by 41% of respondents) was that it is the ultimate responsibility of the dentist to protect his or her patients. "We dentists are responsible. Get a list of the elements in your metals used," offered an Ohio dentist. "This is an opportunity to let your patients know of the great quality lab you use," suggested a Kentucky dentist.

Government is the answer for the 31% of dentist respondents who feel the FDA should enforce regulations. "The FDA should bear the responsibility, because the labs won't and the dentists can't," declared a North Carolina dentist. "If basic standards are not upheld, what are the consequences?" asked another. "Whether it's a faulty tire, a lead dental crown, or a teddy bear stuffed with pins and needles makes no difference."

Twenty-five percent of dentists responded that dental labs should police themselves. "The last thing we need is more regulation. Let the labs police themselves," opined a Pennsylvania dentist. "I think that the labs should be held accountable for their work, and the FDA should enforce those regulations," said a Michigan dental office worker.

Very few respondents (only 3%) suggested that patients who are concerned should be responsible for checking with their dentists. "Patients are not responsible," said a Washington dentist. "The FDA, labs, and dentists should all be responsible." "My local lab is placing 'made in America' on all of the return cases for the patients to see," mentioned a California dentist.

Finally, we asked dentists if they know where their lab work comes from. Sixty percent are certain that all restorations are manufactured within the USA, and another 20% believe that to be the case. Only 10% acknowledge that they know they use products made overseas. "I don't use labs that outsource to foreign countries," declared an Arizona dentist. "Those who choose to do so owe it to their patients to inform them of the practice."

The National Association of Dental Labs (NADL) estimates that 15-20% of Us dental restorations are fabricated outside of the country. It is likely that significantly more than 10% of US dentists are actually placing foreign-made dental prostheses (perhaps as high as 25% of dentists). However, some of these dentists may not realize their dental labs work is not produced in the USA. "How can dentists be held responsible for the lab work if they are not aware that lab is using foreign services?" asked a Pennsylvania dentist. (Indeed, a number of states are now considering legislation that would require such disclosure.)

"This just reinforces how important it is for a dentist to have a good relationship with their dental lab," said Jim Du Molin, dental management consultant and founder of dental website The Wealthy Dentist. "I can only hope they all know what they're getting!"

[Mika]

8. Cheap dental crowns from China may contain dangerous levels of LEAD

Cheap dental crowns from China may contain dangerous levels of LEAD
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=528615&in_page_id=1770

Dentists who use cut-price and potentially deadly crowns and dentures from China are putting their patients at risk, it was claimed today.
The products are often made in unregulated laboratories and can contain dangerous levels of lead, dental experts warned.

In the U.S., four cases of lead poisoning have been linked to Chinese dental fixtures. A laboratory test revealed that some contained 210 times the acceptable amount of the toxic metal.

Richard Daniels, the chief executive of the Dental Laboratories Association, said the number of potentially dangerous imports was rising.

"At this point nobody knows what the health risks are," he said.

"The fact is the majority of NHS work will be coming from China or India in the next five years. We need to be moving towards proper regulation of the industry.

"It's not just a matter for the NHS either - many of the big corporate groups also have agreements with factories in China to make their fixtures."

Fears over the toxic metal content of crowns, veneers, bridges and dentures were raised when a 73-year- old Ohio woman became sick after being given a new crown made in China.

Subsequent tests on other Chinese crowns revealed that some had dangerous levels of lead, forcing the U.S. National Association of Dental Laboratories to issue a warning to patients.

Dangerous crowns and dentures have yet to be reported in Britain. However, there has recently been a huge surge in the number of dental fixtures imported from China into the UK.

These now make up five per cent of the market, compared with less than one per cent three years ago.

There have been concerns about other products made in the country, which is widely regarded as an emerging economic powerhouse.

Last year, toy manufacturer Mattel launched a massive product recall after some of its products made in China were found to have high levels of lead.

David Smith, a board member of the Association, said: "The worst case scenario is we'll end up with a large number of people in the UK with mouths full of lead and they've got no idea that that's the case.

"It's a ridiculous situation. Mattel could simply pull its toys off the shelves when they realised there was a problem. It's nowhere near as simple if the contaminated product is a dental fixture in someone's mouth.

"In theory what happened in America should never happen here as there are regulatory bodies which should prevent these problems in the UK.

"But the truth is, if the situation isn't addressed then it is only a matter of time before there is a similar case as in the States. We've watered down all the rules in such a way that you could drive a bus through them.

"In the end, the whole system is profiteering. Any savings made by outsourcing the work to China are never passed on to the patient."

British dentists can now take an impression of a patient's tooth, send it to a Chinese lab by express post and get a crown back within four days.

Suppliers of imported fixtures ask for around £10 per crown, compared to the £100 fee charged by British labs. The cost of a crown on the NHS is around £193.

Medical devices in this country are tightly regulated, but the supply of dental fixtures is harder to control.

Although the materials used to make crowns, bridges and dentures must carry a CE safety mark, there is no way of checking whether the manufacturer has used the correct materials.

Mr Daniel said: "A British laboratory gets routine, unannounced inspections, but outside the EU no one is checking to see what is going into these products."

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