dentalblogs.com

Across the gobe, heat is rising for mercury. Not a national dental board, but the Swedish government has decided mercury will not be used in the country. This, of course, means no more dental amalgam in Sweden. With the recent (2008) lawsuit that prompted the FDA to swap sides regarding amalgam safety, is American next in line for a national amalgam ban?

The Swedish government’s decision came on January 15th, and on the 16th, the American Dental Association produced a statement that said a mercury ban isn’t necessary in the US. Here’s why:

• Only 30% of fillings placed in America are amalgam.
• Eighty percent of waste amalgam is captured by dental offices, and because many dentists use amalgam separators, the rate of capture can be as high as 99%.
• The US EPA, a significant US wastewater treatment organization, and the ADA agreed to support voluntary use of the best management practices for amalgam, provided by the ADA. This effort will protect the environment (even further) from amalgam waste. See the memorandum of understanding here.
• A study in Public Health Reports stated the first-year increase in US dental costs, if amalgam were eliminated, could reach $8.2 billion. The result would be disaster to public health for low-income Americans.
• The ADA claims that amalgam is responsible for saving teeth for about 100 million Americans who may have otherwise lost the teeth.

SOURCE: ADA News