Forums:
All,
It was with great pleasure that I was finally able to meet and talk with John G Stockholm in person at ICT2017 in Pasadena last summer.
Forum visitors mayl be aware of John’s long-standing position as a significant contributor to the advancement of thermoelectric technology, and until our meeting in Pasadena I had only ever managed to engage briefly with him via electronic communication.
It was especially gratifying that Mr Stockholm had remembered that my own particular interest in this field lies in the thermoelectric behavior of metal dental fillings; or, to be more precise, our ignorance thereof.
John confirmed during our conversation that, “no one else has ever asked about that”; and it appears that, in spite of the fact that amalgam fillings continue to be placed in children’s teeth, experimental investigations to measure the thermoelectric properties of dental amalgams have still never been carried out.
Does anyone know of any reason why the materials used in restorative dentistry should be exempt from the normal degree of scientific scrutiny?
I must confess that I was highly delighted with the success of my first ever ICT poster presentation (entitled “Frogs’ Legs, Thermoelectricity and Hans Christian Oersted”) at the Pasadena conference, and I would like to thank all those who took an interest in it.
I have attached a copy of the poster in PDF format for anyone who wasn’t able to be there.
Best regards,
Keith P Walsh
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 ICT2017_Poster_KPW.pdf | 390.83 KB |
Dental Amalgam Phased Out In Denmark & Norway
A few weeks before the ICT2017 conference in Pasadena I wrote the following email message to Deborah Netburn, science reporter at the LA Times:
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“Dear Deborah,
I wondered if The Los Angeles Times might be interested in reporting on a poster presentation which I will be giving at the International Conference on Thermoelectrics in Pasadena in August 2017. This presentation is intended to suggest that our current scientific understanding of the thermoelectric behavior of dental amalgams might not be sufficient for us to declare that the use of amalgam dental fillings is safe.
Anecdotal evidence linking amalgam fillings to neurological disorders has always been plentiful. However, until recently, those who take this evidence seriously have generally only been able to imagine that any explanation linking cause with effect must lie in the toxic behavior of the mercury content of the fillings.
Now it has been suggested that the real explanation is that amalgam fillings placed in teeth constantly dissipate low levels of electrical energy through the nerves in people's heads as a result of their thermoelectric behavior, and that this is in fact the cause of many so-called "psychiatric disorders".
The title of my poster presentation is, "Frog's Legs, Thermoelectricity, and Hans Christian Oersted", and the subject matter draws primarily on the writings of Danish scientist Hans Christian Oersted from the early part of the nineteenth century.
It is perhaps ironic therefore that in recent years Denmark, like its close neighbor Norway, has completely phased out the use of amalgam fillings by the country's dental surgeons. And it may also be of some interest that in 2016 the Danes were judged to be the "happiest nation in the world" - only to be overtaken in 2017 by Norway - see:
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/mar/23/norway-worlds-happiest-na...
Whatever the case, it appears that the authorities in Denmark and Norway are keeping curiously tight-lipped with regard to any significant reduction in the incidence of neurological/"psychiatric" disorders in those countries. It makes me wonder if they might have been instructed that they cannot tell anyone about it unless they are able to "prove" that it was the toxicity of the mercury that was causing the problems.
I have attached a copy of my poster for you to preview, or it can be viewed online at:
http://www.bookbootusers.co.uk/ICT2017_Poster_KPW.pdf
- and further information on it can be found via the website of the International Thermoelectric Society at:
http://www.its.org/content/ict2017-poster-presenters-announced
It would be great to meet either yourself or anyone from the LA Times science team for a chat in Pasadena.
With kindest regards,
Keith P Walsh”
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I received no reply.
Keith P Walsh