When you see the IAOMT logo on select dental advertisements, what exactly does it mean? It stands for the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit global network of dentists, health professionals, and scientists who research the biocompatibility of dental products, including the risks of mercury fillings, fluoride, root canals, and jawbone osteonecrosis. “Biological” or “biocompatible” dentistry typically refers to dental practices that utilize mercury-free and mercury-safe dentistry while also considering the impact of dental conditions, devices, and treatments on oral and systemic health, including the biocompatibility of dental materials and techniques. IAOMT states “Our work is crucial because there is an alarming lack of professional, policy maker, and public awareness about dangerous dental products that are harming humans and the environment on a massive scale. To help change this dire situation, IAOMT members have been expert witnesses about dental products and practices before the US Congress, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, the Philippines Department of Health, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, and other government bodies around the globe.”
The organization was founded in 1984 by eleven dentists, a doctor, and a lawyer who were discussing a seminar they had just attended on the dangers of mercury from dental amalgam fillings. They agreed that the subject was alarming and if there really was a problem with dental mercury, the evidence ought to be in the scientific literature. The scientific activities of the IAOMT are overseen by an advisory board composed of world leaders in biochemistry, toxicology, and environmental medicine and are dedicated to their mission of protecting public health and the environment. IAOMT has more than 1000 active members with affiliated chapters in fourteen other countries. Within their membership, IAOMT dentists have varying levels of training in mercury-free, mercury-safe, and biological dentistry. General members have access to all of their resources, SMART-certified members have completed a training course in the safe removal of dental mercury fillings, Accredited members have completed a comprehensive ten-unit course on biological dentistry, and Masters and Fellows have completed 500 hours of additional research, including conducting and composing a scientific review. Patients and others can search for an IAOMT dentist at their online directory at www.iaomt.org, which specifies the level of education the member has accomplished within the IAOMT.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsJeffrey Scott Viglielmo, DDS, AIAOMT and Maureen Kelly Viglielmo, MS, DDS Categories
All
Archives
October 2019
|