Why fillings are a burning issue...

By 2020 80 percent of the UK's mercury emissions will come from crematoriums, according to a report just released.

Apparently the problem is caused, because while we go up in smoke, the fillings in our teeth do not. Instead they rain down from crematorium chimneys upon the living, presenting a real danger of mercury poisoning.

If mercury is such a hazard it begs the question why it is packed into our mouths in the first place. But the solution being discussed is that dentists will have to remove fillings from the mouths of the deceased before they are permitted to depart this mortal coil.

Call me cycnical but it's hard enough getting an appointment with the dentist while you're alive; how on earth do you get one when you're dead?

And even more worryingly does this mean that once we have been admitted through the Pearly Gates we will have toothache for eternity?