http://www.toxicteeth.net/natCamp_stateGovt_CA_hearing_Jan2604.cfm


"THE ONCE PROUD PROFESSION OF HEALERS HAS DEGENERATED TO LOBBYISTS AND LIARS"

 
Congresswoman Diane Watson, Chairman Dan Burton

 
Commentary by David Kennedy, DDS
1/26/04, Los Angeles
Burton-Watson Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness Hearing "California's
Compliance with Dental Amalgam Disclosure Policies"

Roberto Villafana DDS (IAOMT) and I drove up to Los Angeles to be present at
Congressman Dan Burton and Congresswoman Dianne Watson's hearing on "Why the
Dental Board of California has not adequately complied with Dr. Watson's 1992
bill" The bill, SB933, required the board to prepare and distribute an
informational fact sheet of the risks of various dental materials.

University of Southern California (USC) sits within Congresswoman Watson's
district and generously hosted the hearing with a whole spread of goodies
including sandwiches and fluoridated pink lemonade. We met in the Town and Gown
room. The path to the congressional hearing from the parking structure was well
marked. None of the major news media agencies could spare the time although
independent filmmaker Kelly Gallagher was there with two cameras to record the
event.

The hearing went off without a hitch except one. The most remarkable thing
about the hearing was who couldn't come. Kind of like if the cops came to your
front door and asked if they could take a look around your place. If you had
something to hide, you'd slam the door and say, "Get a warrant." Well that is
about what the California Dental Association did. They were too busy and
couldn't find anyone, not even a single solitary member of their huge
organization, who could spare the time. Funny, they seem to always have the
time to show up and lobby the Dental Board and every legislative endeavor but
when it comes to swearing under oath, they aren't available, no comment, see my
lawyer (circle one).

With the notable exception of Dr. Chet Yokoyama the 13 other members of the
Dental Board of California and the Executive Director were just too busy. (Get
a subpoena!)

To his credit and perhaps his embarrassment Dr. Harold Slavkin, DDS Dean or USC
agreed to take the pro-mercury side. You have to admit he has to have some
courage or is that like the old song, "Where fools Rush in."

Just to set the mood the hearing started off with the first three minutes of
IAOMT's Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas video being played so that everyone could
see the mercury vapor being emitted from a 25-year-old amalgam under varying
conditions. (View on the web site http://www.iaomt.org)

After opening statements by Dan Burton and Dianne Watson, Arizona State
Representative Karen Johnson testified about her efforts to get the dentists in
Arizona to give truthful informed consent and the behind the scenes activities
of the ADA/AZDA efforts to keep the citizens from finding out the truth about
amalgam. Their lobbying efforts have once again temporarily stymied the efforts
to obtain truthful informed consent, which BTW is already the law, and will
some day bring great shame to the dental profession. Dentistry seems like a
profession of members who sleep walk through life while their Trade
Organization sleeps with industry and lobbies for no disclosure and seems to
act with impunity against the will of the people.

Chet Yokoyama described his and Ariane Terlet's two year effort to prepare a
user friendly fact sheet, acceptable to the California Department of Consumer
Affairs, to the patients and the behind the scenes efforts by the ADA/CDA to
thwart his efforts. This strange odyssey began several years ago when Consumers
for Dental choice sued the board for failure to comply with Congresswoman
Watson's law. As a result of their complete failure to comply with the Watson
law, the entire Dental Board was canned by the legislature in 2001 but many of
the same foot draggers were subsequently reappointed by the now deposed
Governor Grey Davis. Health advocates bought a seat on the board for a
mercury-free dentist from the always ready to deal Governor.

 
 
Panel from left - Parin Shah, Harold Slavkin DDS, Shawn Khorrami, Esq., Chet
Yokoyama, DDS  
 
Chet explained that, after the entire board twice approved the new and improved
fact sheet (8 to1 and 8 to 0) and the Department of Consumer Affairs had agreed
and the Dental Board President promised to release the fact sheet in December
of 2003, he was fired from his position as Chairman of Dental Materials Fact
Sheet Committee and every other dentist on the board was appointed to the
committee with Lawrence Hundley as Chair. Ariane Trelet (The other Pro-Mercury
committee member) mysteriously produced a whole new fact sheet that looked
suspiciously like the ADA's position on amalgam. Charlie Brown points out and
has sued to correct the fact that the committee is unlawful under the rules of
California since a quorum of board members now serves on one committee. That
committee is set to meet at 9 AM Thursday January 29th in Sacramento at the
Marriott Rancho Cordova. (Dr. Kennedy predicts the ADA fact sheet will be
approved 8 to 1). Chet complained that he had spent over a year getting the
present version into the condition that it was and felt betrayed by the board
in this 11th hour coup. He said the CDA brought in a supposed expert from the
National Council Against Health Fraud who has never published anything
scientific in the field of mercury who wrote a letter that claimed the Prop 65
statement was false and misleading.

Next up to bat was Shawn Khorrami Esq. Who is the lawyer who successfully sued
over the failure of dentists with 10 or more employees to comply with the Prop
65 law. He bristled after Chet's presentation because he said that it was the
California Dental Association's desire to reach a negotiated settlement that
had brought the wording we have today to the document. The court held three
days of hearings and took written testimony to arrive at the wording. CDA did
not object to the wording when they agreed to tell their members to comply.
Chet did point out that there is a false statement in the Existing Prop 65
warning. The FDA has not approved mixed dental amalgam as the warning states.
(Inserted no doubt by the CDA).

Shawn was quite upset that these two faced liars would attempt to reverse the
efforts of thousands of people to obtain adequate public notification about
mercury released from amalgam by using their fully controlled Dental Board
committee. There were some suggestions of legal ramifications to this unethical
behavior and at least one lawyer suggested RICO might be applicable. RICO is
the omnibus organized crime and racketeering law that pierces many of the
defense mechanisms when two or more parties conspire to break the law. When
that is the case with state committees, the state will not defend the Board and
they are on their own.

Harold Slavkin came next and explained that USC gives out the unapproved fact
sheet (Dept of Consumer Affairs didn't approve) to every dental student and
patient and has the Prop 65 warning posted in all patient areas for which he
was congratulated by Congresswoman . Watson. He stated again, as he had during
the November 2002 Dental Board hearing, his profound belief in amalgam safety
and his reliance upon the opinion of the alphabet soup of agencies in
Washington DC. He did not explain why so many other countries have found that
the evidence of amalgam safety is insufficient and lacking.

He repeated the often made claim that there is no evidence of causation which
got an immediate response from Shawn. Mr. Khorrami snapped that the Prop 65 law
did not require any proof of causation. It only requires disclosure. He
explained that it was because of the people's complete distrust of Government
and its the many kangaroo committees with unfounded proclamations of safety
that Prop 65 was passed. Prop 65 does not allow a risk benefit compromise. It
affirmatively requires disclosure so that the public can make up its own mind
about safety.

Mr. Parin Shah, Executive Director of San Francisco's Community Toolbox for
Children's Environmental Health discussed their effort to prevent further
contamination of SF bay by dentist's runoff. Since the wastewater quality board
did not have the legal power to ban amalgams they took another tact. The do
have the power to regulate and license mercury discharge. They tried
unsuccessfully to get the dentists to comply voluntarily with amalgam
separators but by September of 2003 less than 1% of the dentists had installed
a separator to prevent waste mercury amalgam from entering the waste stream.
From there it contaminates the bay, the air and the land. Waste sewer sludge is
spread on farm land as fertilizer. From there mercury can re enter the food
chain and seep into the subsurface water.

So they took the regulatory route. They simply made the dentists apply for a
discharge permit and monthly monitoring. If they put in a separator there was a
small fee. If they did not, it cost $1200 for the application and $1000 monthly
to monitor. Presto! ! !

78% of the dentists found that they would rather have an amalgam separator than
a permit to discharge quantities of mercury in the sewer. They have noted a 90%
drop in the amount of mercury in the sewage. I guess that pretty much shows up
who is telling the truth about how much mercury dentists are dumping into the
environment. The ADA says it is only a little tiny bit and the rest of the
world says it is one whole hell of a lot. When asked by Congressman Burton what
percentage of the mercury problem at the waste treatment plant can be
attributed to dental amalgam he replied 100%. The Congressman accepted the
answer as correct. He has previously held hearing regarding the discharge from
the Norfolk Naval base where a similar figure was found to be accurate.

I asked Mr. Shah why he had said 100% instead of 90%. He explained that the
remaining 10% is coming from human feces of those who have amalgams in their
teeth. Skare and Enquist measured about 150 µg per person per day.

Then Dan Burton got somewhat frustrated with Dr. Slavkin and his steadfast
defense of amalgam as not a significant source of mercury and asked point
blank, "Well how do you explain the smoking teeth we showed in the video at the
beginning of this hearing." Dr. Slavkin began by being uncertain about what he
had seen in the video and did the marimba into the scientific tango with a
little tap dance here and there until he was cut down by Congresswoman Watson's
barrage.

Congresswoman Watson had just been released from the hospital and was in no
mood for his pseudo scientific shenanigans. She stated as clearly as she could
that she was no fool, had been there and seen it all and he had better stop all
that scientific mumbo jumbo NOW and start answering her questions. After she
was through lamb blasting him (I am sure he noticed) Dan Burton retorted that
his remark was uncalled for and that he (Congressman Burton) had been assured
by the Chairman of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky,
Dr. Boyd Haley, that the video accurately displayed mercury vapor and that Dr.
Haley has consistently measured mercury being released from set dental amalgam.
Dr. Slavkin tucked his head beneath his tail and kept very quiet. A technique
taught to all dental students when controversy arises. Shut up and act stupid.

The hearing ended on a very positive note with many thanks from Chairman Burton
to all who had participated especially Congresswoman Watson for her
resurrection from the hospital to come to this hearing. I recognized so many of
the people who have struggled so hard for so many years trying to get the
dentists to tell the truth in the audience that I can't possibly name them all.
It was so good for them to be there and witness how little the mercury
advocates have to support their deception. Everyone thanked Anita Tibeau and
Charlie Brown for their efforts. I dropped another check into Charlie's pocket
to help fund their efforts. You should do the same. Charles Brown, Esq.
Consumers For Dental Choice 1725 K , N.W. Suite 511, Washington, DC 20006

My only real regret is that now I can see clearly where this is going to end.
My Father and Grandfather were dentists. Through their efforts and thousands of
others like them the dental profession has become one of the most respected
professions. The ADA accredited dental schools of America do not teach the
students the truth. If the Dean Hal Slavkin won't admit the truth when
confronted with the pictures, there is not chance in the world that the
students will ever even hear about it. None were present at the hearings that I
saw. Through the nefarious activities of the ADA and their component societies
the mercury cover-up will bring great shame to our noble profession. They lie
they cheat they steal the health of vulnerable subsets of the population yet
claim in court that they owe no duty of care to the public.

The American Cattle Raisers Association let greed get in the way of good sense.
They allowed and lobbied for cattle raisers to continue feeding cows to cows.
That action caused one cow in Washington to come down with Mad Cow's Disease
and they lost 70 Billion dollars overnight in trade with 17 countries who will
no longer buy American beef.

Just as the ADA has been trying to save a sinking ship for way too many years,
they too, will someday have to pay the piper. When that day comes the
manufacturer of dental amalgam will take the brunt of the blame. Guess who
manufactures a mercury silver filling? Is it Johnson and Johnson? Nope. Is it
3M? Nope. They only sell ingredients. Like a cake. They didn't bake the cake
and so they are not responsible for how it turns out.

Guess who the cook is in this example? The poor dumb dentist sleep walks
through life will someday wake up to find that their liability is hanging way
out and there is no one there to give them any sympathy. They let their
association do what should not have been done. They did not protect the public.
It is their 70 billion dollars of liability that will be lost in a blink. It is
sad but true. The once proud profession of healers has degenerated to lobbyists
and liars. Too bad and very sad for us few who remain truthful and ethical to
be tarnished by the may who are not.

The opinions of David Kennedy, DDS
Email: davidkennedy-dds@cox.net
Phone: (619) 222-8177