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After Settling Suit, FDA Changes Tune On Mercury Fillings

Agency finally concedes mercury dental fillings may be dangerous

June 6, 2008

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For years, controversy has surrounded the use of mercury fillings in dental work, with critics charging these fillings posed health risks. After years of reviewing the data - and settling a lawsuit - the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concedes there may be something to those claims.

The FDA has issued a warning that mercury dental fillings may pose a threat to people with a weakened immune system. Mercury has been linked to a number of illnesses, including brain and kidney damage.

"Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses," the FDA says in an update fact sheet on its Web site.

When amalgam fillings are placed in teeth or removed from teeth, they release mercury vapor. Mercury vapor is also released during chewing.

The FDA said people with mercury fillings should not have them removed, but should talk about the matter with their dentist. The agency has agreed to release a new ruling on mercury fillings by July 2009.

That agreement was part of a settlement of a suit brought against the FDA by Moms Against Mercury and other consumer groups. Michael Bender, Director of the Mercury Policy Project and a plaintiff in the suit, said the settlement forced FDA to end "32 years of delay" and enforce the law.

"This about-face resulted from settling our lawsuit," Bender said. "The FDA must now finish classification within one year of the close of the public comment period on its amalgam policy, that is, by July 28, 2009. The FDA also agreed to and, and with uncharacteristic speed, has already changed its website on mercury amalgam -- dramatically."

Bender says that previously, the FDA claimed that no science exists that amalgam is unsafe, that other countries have acted for environmental reasons only, and that the 2006 FDA advisory panel affirmed amalgam's safety. Now, he says, the FDA has moved to a more neutral course, while still recognizing the serious health risks posed by amalgam in particular for children and unborn children, for pregnant women, and for those with mercury immune system sensitivity.

According to the American Dental Association, about 30 percent of patients have mercury fillings and that number is dropping. Other options for fillings include tooth-colored resin composites, glass cement, porcelain, and other metals like gold. Dentists have always liked mercury because of its low cost and durability.

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