Children’s Dental Devices Contaminated with BPA

For Immediate Release:
February 6, 2009
Contact:
Gretchen DuBeau, 800-230-2762

American Association for Health Freedom Petitions FDA

Today the American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF) petitioned the FDA about Bisphenol-A (BPA), an organic compound found in polycarbonate plastics. They have asked the FDA to issue a statement encouraging Americans to request BPA-free dental sealants and devices for their children until studies prove conclusively that BPA presents no health risks.
The petition also asks the BPA Task Force to study the risks to children from exposure to BPA not only through dental applications specifically, but also through food, food containers, water, the environment, or any other means cumulatively. The BPA Task Force is an agency-wide task force created by the FDA last year to facilitate cross-agency review of all FDA-regulated products containing BPA.

There have been a significant number of reports about potential health risks from exposure to BPA—diabetes and cardiovascular disease in particular. This exposure can come though many different sources—food, the environment, food containers, baby bottles, dental applications, and medical devices, to name a few.

Canada is moving forward with legislation that bans the importation, sale, and advertising of polycarbonate baby bottles, and has issued a health warning to its citizens not to use any product containing BPA if it is to be heated or warmed. Health Canada proposed classifying the chemical as “toxic to human health and the environment.” Here in the U.S., a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health determined that there is clear evidence for concern about BPA’s effects on fetal and infant brain development and behavior. In addition, there are concerns that BPA could interfere with the sexual development of children.

In her statement released today, Gretchen DuBeau, AAHF’s executive director, said, “BPA is a known toxic substance. With safe alternatives on the market, parents need to be aware that BPA-free dental applications are available for their children.”

Despite the actions of other world governments in banning BPA, the FDA is standing by their position that “FDA-regulated products containing BPA currently on the market are safe and that exposure levels to BPA from food contact materials, including for infants and children, are below those that may cause health effects” (FDA, Alderson Statement to US Senate, 5-14-08). According to AAHF, however, the FDA’s findings are to a large extent based on the chemical industry’s own studies, and ignores numerous independent scientific research findings.

The BPA Task Force is currently reviewing additional research studies to determine what level of exposure to BPA creates a health risk; however, a public release date for any new findings has not been set.

“At this juncture,” DuBeau added, “with known links between exposure to BPA and adverse health effects, common sense dictates that we should proceed cautiously and request BPA-free dental applications. These products exist and are readily available on the market.”
The FDA Petition is available at:

— 30 —

NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

About the American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF): www.healthfreedom.net
The American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF) is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization that protects Americans’ rights to access integrative medicine and dietary supplements. AAHF protects the right of the consumer to choose and the practitioner to practice by lobbying Congress and state legislatures; educating the public, press, and decision-makers on integrative medicine; initiating legal activities; and joining and forming significant coalitions.