Learn about the IAOMT and Our Mission
IAOMT promotes research about the biocompatibility of dental products.
The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) is a 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. We are a non-profit organization and have been dedicated to our mission of protecting public health and the environment since we were founded in 1984. Click here to learn more about IAOMT’s history.
We accomplish our mission by funding and promoting relevant research, accumulating and disseminating scientific information, investigating and promoting non-invasive scientifically valid therapies, and educating medical and dental professionals, policy makers, and the general public. The IAOMT has a federal tax exempt status as a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, with Public Charity Status 509(a)(2).
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. Additionally, the IAOMT is an accredited member of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Global Mercury Partnership and was involved in the negotiations leading to UNEP’s Minamata Convention on Mercury.
About IAOMT and Biological Dentistry
“We are a trusted academy of allied professionals providing scientific resources to support new levels of integrity and safety in healthcare.”
Biological Dentistry is not a separate, recognized specialty of dentistry, but it is a thought process and an attitude that can apply to all facets of dental practice and to health care in general: to always seek the safest, least toxic way to accomplish the goals of modern dentistry and of contemporary healthcare. The tenets of biological dentistry can inform and intersect with all topics of conversation in health care, as the well-being of the mouth is an integral part of the whole person’s health. Click here to learn more about IAOMT and oral health integration.
Biological dentists encourage the practice of mercury-free and mercury-safe dentistry and aim to help others understand what these terms actually mean in clinical application:
• “Mercury-free” is a term with a wide range of implications, but it typically refers to dental practices that do not place dental mercury amalgam fillings.
• “Mercury-safe” typically refers to dental practices that use innovative and rigorous safety measures based on up-to-date scientific research to limit exposure, such as removing previously existing dental mercury amalgam fillings and replacing them with non-mercury alternatives.
• “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.
Within our membership, IAOMT dentists have varying levels of training in mercury-free, mercury-safe, and biological dentistry. General members have access to all of our 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 our online directory, which specifies the level of education the member has accomplished within the IAOMT. Click here to learn more about IAOMT and biological dentistry.
About IAOMT and Our Outreach
The main crux of the IAOMT’s programming is our Environmental and Public Health Campaign (EPHC). Public outreach is essential to our EPHC, and we share information with the public through our website, press releases, and other creative activities. The work of the IAOMT and its members has been featured on news networks such as NBC, CBS, and FOX, as well as television programs such as Dr. Oz, The Doctors, and 60 Minutes. In print, the IAOMT has been the subject of news articles all over the world, ranging from USA Today and The Chicago Tribune to Arab News. The IAOMT also uses social media sites to promote our message.
Professional, regulatory, and scientific outreach are likewise essential components of our EPHC. The IAOMT offers continuing education courses for dentists and other medical professionals and has developed a strategic network with a variety of academic establishments, dental/medical associations, health advocacy organizations, and consumer-based groups. Maintaining working relationships with health and government officials is also important to the IAOMT. Furthermore, the scientific activities of the IAOMT are overseen by a Scientific Advisory Board composed of leaders in Biochemistry, Toxicology and Environmental Medicine. Click here to learn even more about IAOMT and our outreach projects.
