Brief Description
“Evidence of Harm” chronicles the lives of three ordinary Americans who become reluctant health advocates after suffering from the devastating effects of exposure to hazardous mercury vapors during routine dental procedures. The film presents a haunting portrait of a dental industry all too willing to turn a blind eye to science while placing profits and politics ahead of the 120 million Americans currently implanted with toxic dental fillings.
Background
Mercury dental fillings were brought to America in 1833. The dental organization at the time, the American Society of Dental Surgeons (ASDS) passed a resolution stating that the use of amalgam fillings were considered to be malpractice. The ASDS had even asked members to sign a pledge never to place what the organization referred to as “poison metal fillings” and those members who did use amalgam risked being expelled.
By 1856 the ASDS disbanded due to loss of membership, and the American Dental Association (ADA) rose to take its place in 1859. The ADA continues to promote the safety of mercury dental fillings and supports its use for anyone and everyone, regardless of age, reproductive status or any of the known factors that make a person unusually susceptible to the effects of mercury.
About the Film
With one previous feature and several award-winning short films to his credit, Randall Moore began researching Alzheimer’s Disease after his own father was diagnosed as having the disease. After finding out that the “silver” dental fillings in his Dad’s mouth contained 50% elemental mercury and that they were releasing toxic vapors above established safety levels, he began working diligently as a mercury researcher and activist.
“During my research I discovered over and over that our governmental regulatory bodies and health authorities have failed to protect the public from this toxic product,” said Moore. “Frustrated with our government’s refusal to do anything about removing this toxic product from the marketplace, I took it upon myself to make a documentary on the subject with the hopes of alerting others of this immediate danger to the health of people and the environment worldwide.”
Moore came to understand how a national epidemic of mercury poisoned individuals slip through our health system undetected. “There are nearly 40 adverse health symptoms that can be caused by mercury including chronic fatigue, sleep loss, panic attacks, depression, chronic headaches, and loss of vision. Neurological problems, cardiovascular disease, and kidney dysfunction are just a few of the major disorders that have been linked to mercury. Since most of the general public and health care practitioners are unaware of the exposure to mercury from dental fillings, nor how to test a person for mercury accurately, they could be completely unaware of what’s causing their patient’s symptoms.”
Moore decided to profile three charismatic individuals who have become fearless anti-Mercury filling advocates; investigative news reporter Stacy Case, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after having her mercury fillings unsafely removed and replaced with four new mercury fillings; Biochemist Boyd Haley, PhD, who has published studies linking the neurotoxin mercury to Alzheimer’s disease and traveled the world lecturing about the toxicity of mercury and its negative effects on the brain for the past 20 years; veteran dental assistant Karen Burns, who realized her failing health was due to occupational exposure to extremely high amounts of mercury vapor and particulate matter during the placement, polishing and removal of mercury dental fillings.
Moore felt it was important to provide his three subjects with enough time to adequately communicate their personal stories. “I think that in order for documentaries to reach people on a deep level that really moves them into action, it is important to present the characters onscreen as people the audience can relate to. During the editing, I continually tried to bring the personal experiences of the individuals to the forefront while balancing the science and scandals that permeate this issue.”
Shooting for the film took place in more than a dozen states and on two continents over a period of five years. Moore’s biggest challenge was obtaining access to individuals presenting the opposite side of the issue. The ADA continually denied him access to spokespeople. Karen Burns ultimately persuaded her former employer, a dentist who thinks mercury fillings are safe, to provide interviews.
After researching the neurotoxin mercury for three decades, biochemist Boyd Haley, PhD firmly states “the American people are being overtly lied to by the American Dental Association and the dental branch of the Food and Drug Administration.” One of the first scientists to publish studies linking mercury to Alzheimer’s disease, he adds “Published studies repeatedly show that the widespread exposure of mercury and its effect on the brain explains every single aspect of Alzheimer’s disease. It is the missing piece of the puzzle that has literally been right under the noses of researchers for all these years.”
“Evidence of Harm” includes critical comments from other individuals who find fault with the American Dental Association including Diane Watson, former U.S. representative for California’s 33rd congressional district. One of her statements is “Regrettably the American Dental Association has a provision in its code of ethics to stop dentists from initiating communications with patients about the risk of mercury dental fillings.”
One of the film’s most powerful stories focuses on the remarkable journey of Stacy Case, an investigative television news reporter and devoted mother of two whose illness caused by mercury dental fillings prompts her to search for a cure and then become an activist against mercury fillings. “Every human body has a genetic disposition to handle toxicity a certain way and that’s what is so frustrating,” Stacy says. “They just feel like they can dismiss all this information and all of these studies and all of the stories like mine of people being cured because not everyone who has amalgam fillings gets sick.”
For the first time ever, the film quantitatively measures and visually demonstrates the enormous amounts of mercury vapor that is generated when working with mercury fillings. “The footage reveals that dentists are exposing staff and patients without their knowledge to levels of mercury vastly higher than those at which people are immediately evacuated from buildings,” explains Moore. “The implications from these revelations are that every dentist in America working with mercury fillings in anyway are violating occupational safety regulations by not informing their staff of toxic exposures or providing them protection from those exposures.”
Moore hopes “Evidence of Harm” will raise awareness about the adverse health effects from the mercury released from amalgam dental fillings. He adds “I hope this film helps to bring about a ban of this product. But I know that even if mercury dental fillings were banned tomorrow, there would still be more than 290 tons of mercury in the mouths of Americans that will eventually need to be safely removed. Occupational safety regulations already dictate that employers must inform and protect employees from toxic exposures so I’d like to see OSHA be much more involved with enforcing safety regulations in the dental industry involving mercury and heavily fining those who do not comply.”
About The Film’s Principal Subjects
Investigative TV News reporter Stacy Case was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis shortly after having her mercury fillings unsafely removed and replaced with four new mercury fillings. After having her mercury fillings safely removed and undergoing
chelation treatments to remove the mercury from her body, she has experienced no further symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. She testified to the FDA in 2010 about her experience and urged them to take this toxic product off the market.
Biochemist Boyd Haley, PhD has published studies linking the neurotoxin mercury to Alzheimer’s disease. For over 20 years, he has traveled the world lecturing about the toxicity of mercury and its negative effects on the brain. Haley’s frustration with the government and American Dental Association for allowing the continued use of toxic mercury fillings prompted Boyd to create a drug that removes mercury from the body. This drug is currently in clinical trials and will be released in 2017.
Mercury safe dentist Dr. Matthew Young wears personal protection equipment (PPE) in order to adhere to Occupational Safety (OSHA) regulations which require him to protect himself and staff while working with mercury. The levels of mercury vapor released during the removal of an amalgam filling far surpass all established safety limits. While his state dental board has harassed Dr. Young for his position on dental mercury fillings, he is still providing mercury safe dental services to patients.
Karen Burns was a dental assistant for over 20 years before realizing her failing health was due to her occupational exposure to extremely high amounts of mercury vapor and mercury contaminated particulate matter during the placement, polishing and removal of mercury dental fillings. Even though her employer did not offer her protection from the hazardous mercury vapor which resulted in her testing high for mercury, she still lost her claim for worker’s compensation because she was not willing to report her boss to OSHA authorities.