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© physorg.comMercury in dental fillings
Consumer and dental groups challenged the FDA's analysis that determined mercury released from fillings doesn't cause harm.

Less than 18 months after concluding that mercury in dental fillings was not harmful to patients, the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the scientific basis for its decision.

A panel of outside experts will meet next week to consider challenges from four consumer and dental groups to the analysis that FDA used to justify its conclusion that mercury released from dental amalgam fillings is too low to cause harm.

Agency officials said Thursday there's no new evidence contradicting that assessment, and that "at this time FDA is not modifying its existing guidance."

The FDA's position is supported by the American Dental Assn., which says that treatment decisions should be left to patients and their dentists.

Opponents say FDA used flawed science in setting the safe level for mercury exposure too high, especially for pregnant women and children.

They want dental amalgam either banned or subject to extensive testing to prove safety.

The advisory committee will not vote on specific recommendations, but will discuss a series of technical questions about how exposure to mercury is measured, whether safe levels of exposure have been set correctly and the reliability of studies of mercury on humans.

Amalgam, which can also include silver, tin, copper and zinc, has been use for more than 150 years, in hundreds of millions of patients.

It releases mercury vapor, which can be absorbed by the body. High levels of mercury vapor are associated with brain and kidney disorders.

Advocates of a ban argue that harm from amalgam has been overlooked because mercury builds up in the body over many years, obscuring its link to illness.

Amalgam is silver-colored and the cheapest and longest-lasting dental filling. But its use has been falling in recent years because of concerns about mercury and a consumer preference for composite resin fillings that can be matched to the color of surrounding teeth.


Comment: Mercury released from dental amalgam fillings can have serious health effects on humans and the environment. The FDA's conclusion that 'mercury released from dental amalgam fillings is too low to cause harm' is based on flawed science. For more information about the ongoing battle by advocates to ban amalgam fillings read the following articles:

The NEW Battle Strategy to Get Rid of Mercury Once and For All in Dentistry
Facts About Mercury That May Shock You

Mercury pollution is growing across the globe.

In the words of Charlie Brown, President of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, "Amalgam is a "primitive, polluting, 19th century product that began when physicians were sawing off legs. Medicine has since moved forward."

Consider these disturbing facts:
  • Amalgam is the MOST EXPENSIVE dental material when you count environmental costs and clean-up costs.
  • Amalgam is the number one cause of mercury exposure for consumers, according to the Canadian government and other sources.
  • Mercury from dental offices is the largest source of mercury in wastewater. According to an article by Michael Bender (co-founder of the Mercury Policy Project), at least 40 percent of mercury flowing into municipal water treatment plants begins in dentist offices. And those plants are not set up to remove it, so it ends up in your fish.
  • Americans and Europeans have more mercury in their mouths than exists in all products combined - more than 1,000 tons.
  • Amalgams of the dead post a risk to the living. Emissions from the combustion of mercury fillings during cremation are a significant contaminator of air, waterways, soil, wildlife and food. Seven to nine metric tons of mercury per year escapes into the atmosphere during cremations, and it is estimated that, left unchecked, crematoria will be the largest single cause of mercury pollution by 2020.
Mercury Dental Fillings: What the FDA and the ADA Are Not Telling You

US issues health warning over mercury fillings

FDA Reluctantly Admits Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children

Dental Fillings - Mercury Exposure At Dangerous Levels and Alzheimer's Disease