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Abstract

Mary Stephenson, a fifty-nine-year-old grandmother, visited dozens of counselors and experienced with an array of antidepressants but nothing worked to curb her suicidal feelings. Janie McDowell, a fifty-six-year-old housewife, suffered from hand tremors, leg-muscle spasms, recurring nausea, chronic bladder and kidney infections, severe depression, short-term memory loss, and slurred speech. Freya Koss, a former event planner, experienced dizziness and double vision. Physicians misdiagnosed Koss with lupus, multiple sclerosis, and, finally myasthenia gravis. The common theme among these medical tragedies is that the above victims all returned to being healthy, active adults after the removal of their mercury amalgam dental fillings. . . . This paper begins with a historical look at the use of mercury in dental fillings. Part III discusses the forms of mercury, while Part IV discusses the composition of mercury amalgams. Part V focuses on the mercury amalgam controversy and highlights the major arguments made by pro-amalgam and anti-amalgam activists. Parts VI and VII, respectively, explain why litigation and removal of fillings are insufficient remedies for the mercury amalgam problem. Part VIII addresses the environmental impact of mercury amalgams. Part IX examines legislation enacted in other countries that prohibit, limit, or discourage the use of mercury amalgams. Part X addresses the inadequacies of state-level legislation as a solution. Part XI proposes national legislation as the best solution to the mercury amalgam problem. Additionally, the final part recommends changes to the currently proposed national legislation.

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