THE DANGERS & TOXICITY OF DENTAL MERCURY: PART 4

Social Injustices Associated with Amalgam

The use of mercury amalgam has led to many social injustices, including....

No Information

The term “silver fillings” has misled many dental consumers into believing that amalgam is just silver when it is really mostly mercury. Only 11% of Americans are told by their dentists that amalgam fillings are 50% mercury – and Americans making under $50,000/year, racial minorities, and women are even less likely to get enough information about what’s in their dental fillings. Consumers for Dental Choice is leading the charge to expose the “silver fillings” deception. Learn more here.

No Choice

Amalgam is routinely used in people who are given no choice – especially low-income families, soldiers, veterans, American Indians, and others subject to government dental programs through Medicaid/Medicare, the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Indian Health Service. Consumers for Dental Choice is challenging government programs that deny people the choice of mercury-free fillings. Learn more here.

No Coverage

Many dental insurance companies will not fully pay for mercury-free dental fillings. Instead, they give preference to mercury amalgam fillings, which they fully pay for. Consumers for Dental Choice is leading the campaign to reform insurance coverage to include mercury-free fillings. Learn more here. 

Mercury-Free Fillings

Mercury-free filling options Mercury-free dental fillings have been developed and studied for over fifty years. As a result, a wide variety of alternatives to mercury amalgam fillings are available today. The most popular mercury-free fillings include:

• Composite
• Glass Ionomer
• Compomer

Advantages of Mercury-free Fillings

Mercury-free dental fillings offer many advantages:

• Environment-friendly: Composites and glass ionomers are mercury-free, and there is no evidence of environmental toxicity.


• Preserve teeth: The placement of mercury-free fillings allows for less tooth destruction, which preserves more natural tooth structure. Composites fillings can also strengthen and enhance biomechanical properties of the restored tooth. As a result, the tooth itself can survive longer.


• Easier to Repair: Composite fillings are easier to repair than composites – which can save you both tooth structure and money. 


• Durable: Recent studies show that properly placed composite fillings can last just as long as– or even longer than – amalgam fillings.


• Prevent caries: Glass ionomers, used in atraumatic restorative treatment (ART), have proven valuable in certain clinical situations where they can be more accessible and less expensive than amalgam (for example, in communities without electricity).


• User-friendly:  All properly trained dentists can place mercury-free fillings in any tooth requiring a filling. If a dentist tells you he or she has to use amalgam because it is too hard to use a mercury-free filling in your tooth, find a more competent dentist!

Increasing Use of Mercury-free Fillings

​Because mercury-free dental restorations are increasingly effective, available, and affordable, a growing number of countries have already made significant progress in phasing down – and even phasing out – amalgam use. The chart below shows the percentage of total fillings that are amalgam versus how many are mercury-free in several countries.

Courtesy - Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry - www.toxicteeth.org