There is further concern among some homeopaths that fluoridation amounts to forced medication. Even those who get bottled water will receive additional fluoride as the result of increased fluoride in the food chain from watering fruits and vegetables, from washing fruits or vegetables in tap water, and from feeding fluoridated water to animals who will be consumed. Ralph Nader expressed a similar concern when he spoke at a college in 1974, saying, "Fluoridation has been promoted without giving consumers their free choice." (18)

Some anti-fluoridationists have flippantly advocated that we "fluoridate candy, not water." Perhaps even this isn't a good idea.

Amalgam Fillings: The Controversy
In 1840 the American Society of Dental Surgeons (ASDS) was formed, and it was America's first licensing body. This organization required that its members sign an oath affirming that they would not use mercury-containing materials in their dental fillings. The ADSD eventually died a couple of decades later and its rival organization, the American Dental Association, advocated for amalgam fillings. Throughout the ADA's history, some dentists have questioned the safety of these fillings.

Recently however, a small but growing group of ADA dentists are again expressing concern about amalgams. Amalgam fillings are primarily composed of mercury, silver, tin, and cooper. The anti-amalgam dentists assert that the oral cavity is the only place in the human body where we commonly place non-biological materials. These dentists also note that the upper teeth are less than 10 centimeters to the brain and that high concentrations of mercury found post-mortem in the brain have been correlated to the numbers and surfaces of the amalgam fillings. (19) They express further concern that we have never adequately tested the bio-compatibility of these metals. It is ironic, they note, that public health officials require that dentists keep their mercury in an airtight container and that they do not throw their excess mercury away in the trash, but must dispose of it in a carefully determined fashion. And yet, dentists readily place this toxic substance in people's mouths. In fact, over 85% of the American public have amalgam fillings in their mouth.

Joe Graedon, a respected pharmacologist and author of The People's Pharmacy, expressed concern about amalgam feelings, stating, "How can the mercury get loose? Corrosion is the culprit. While a hunk of metal in your tooth looks impervious, it may be subject to corrosion. In addition to the chemical environment of your mouth, which includes a constant saliva bath which tends to dissolve tin, amalgam in contact with other metals (such as a good bridge) creates a minature electrochemical cell which is hellbent on dissolving itself out of existence, freeing mercury in the process." (20)

Until very recently, the ADA has rebutted the anti-amalgam dentists noting that there is no evidence that the amalgams release any mercury or other metals into the body. New technology however has been able to detect this leeching. Studies have shown that people with amalgam fillings have detectable levels of mercury vapors in their breath. (21) The ADA responded to this research by stating that mercury vapors in the mouth did not prove the presence of increased mercury in the blood. Newer studies however have shown that blood mercury concentration in patients with amalgam filling were signficantly higher than those without such fillings. (22) Although it is not yet conclusive what symptoms this leeching may cause, some research has shown that people with amalgam fillings had a significant decrease in T-cells* after insertion of fillings than before their insertion or after their removal. (23)