FDA Reviewing Safety of Mercury Amalgam Dental Fillings

Los Angeles, CAThe controversy over mercury dental fillings was the recent focus of a Food and Drug Administration Town-Hall in Orlando, Fl. Amalgam fillings containing mercury were and are widely used because they are less expensive than gold fillings as well as the new white fillings which are mercury free.

Activists against mercury fillings are demanding that the FDA restrict or ban them entirely, as they have been in several European countries including Sweden, Norway and Denmark. According to a report in the LA Times some people spoke about their medical problems they believe are associated with mercury poisoning from their amalgam fillings, including lupus, multiple sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis.

Among the speakers was Dr. James Hardy of Winter Park, author of a book titled "Mercury Free." He noted that any unused dental amalgam is considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of carefully. "After it [an amalgam filling] is taken out of a patient's mouth, it is treated as hazardous waste," Hardy said. "But somehow, when it is in the patient's mouth, it is not." ( LATimes)

The FDA recently reconvened a scientific panel to look into the agency's position on amalgam fillings. The town-hall meetings are part of that process, although it is not yet clear what direction the agency will take.