| Last week, the FDA said that their advisory panel on | | | | may no longer be in your mouth at all. Claims that your |
| the subject was about to report that mercury | | | | general health will improve if you remove your old |
| amalgam fillings were once again proven to be safe. | | | | mercury fillings may be exaggerated to say the least. |
| The only problem was that the FDA's own advisory | | | | I am fortunate to have had training using non-mercury |
| panel did not agree. After an abundance of testimony | | | | filling materials from the very beginning of my career. |
| on the subject, the advisory panel broke with a | | | | My very first job was in an office that had had a |
| long-standing rubber stamp on this subject and is | | | | mercury spill so they no longer used mercury dental |
| looking further into the matter. | | | | amalgam. I haven't used this material in a long time. In |
| The MSDS sheets that come with dental mercury | | | | using the newer materials, I have found that they have |
| amalgam state that the material should not be used on | | | | advantages other than being mercury-free: |
| pregnant women. Haz Mat protocol requires that scrap | | | | · They cause less sensitivity. |
| amalgam be stored in a special liquid and removed by | | | | · They don't expand and contract like metals |
| a toxic waste disposal service. According to | | | | so they're less likely to break teeth. |
| government agencies, the only place mercury | | | | · They are dimensionally stable so they don't |
| amalgam fillings are safe is in a patient's mouth. So | | | | leak. |
| what should you do about this, if anything? | | | | · They look more natural. |
| First of all, don't panic. Many dentists are now trained | | | | If you need new dental work, there are some good |
| to use newer materials that do not contain mercury. A | | | | reasons to use these materials. In the mean time, it will |
| growing number of dentists do not even have mercury | | | | be interesting to see what the final outcome will be |
| amalgam on hand. For better or worse, the mercury in | | | | with regard to the FDA's position on mercury dental |
| older fillings evaporates after a number of years and | | | | amalgam. |