“Recently the European Food Safety Agency reported that the tolerable weekly intake for inorganic mercury might be exceeded due to the additional inhalation exposure in people with a high number of amalgam fillings.” – SCENIHR: The safety of dental amalgam and alternative dental restoration materials for patients and users.

“Mercury forms a large number of organic and inorganic compounds. Mercury vapour and almost all of these compounds are highly toxic. Less hazardous substitutes should be used whenever possible.” – Health and Safety Executive.

“Mercury vapour is released from silver amalgam restorations during chewing, tooth brushing, and parafunctional activities including bruxism.” – SCENIHR: The safety of dental amalgam and alternative dental restoration materials for patients and users.

“Retention data are available from analyses of autopsy specimens. Brain tissue generally shows average total mercury concentrations below 10 ?g/kg, with a highly significant association between number of amalgam fillings and surfaces on the one hand and the mercury concentration in occipital cortex and pituitary gland. In a study of mercury in Swedish autopsy samples from 30 subjects, with an average of 13.2 amalgam surfaces, the median concentrations of methyl mercury and inorganic mercury in the occipital lobe cortex were 4 and 5 ?g/kg wet weight, respectively. In one of the samples from occipital cortex the concentration of inorganic mercury (164 ?g/kg) was 9 times higher than the concentration of the second highest case and fulfilled the criteria of an “extreme outlier” from a statistical point of view. The subject was found to have been employed as a dental assistant in the past (Björkman et al., 2007).” – CENIHR: The safety of dental amalgam and alternative dental restoration materials for patients and users.

“Mercury vapour is lipophilic and can pass biological membranes, including the blood-brain barrier and placenta, thus resulting in deposition in the central nervous system, including the foetal brain. The vapour dissolved in the blood and tissues rapidly becomes oxidised due to catalase activity. Ionic Mercury becomes bound to some extent to metallothionein and accumulates in the kidneys. Excretion takes place mainly through the urine and some is eliminated through faeces and sweat (Sanfelieu, 2003).” – SCENIHR: The safety of dental amalgam and alternative dental restoration materials for patients and users.

The information on this website is available to help you understand the potential toxicity or safety of dental amalgam fillings. The UK Department of Health advises all dentists not to remove or replace amalgam fillings in pregnant women. Here you can find several documents that can be accessed directly by clicking on the buttons and research articles that you can find online.

• American Dental Association Literature review on Dental Amalgam Safety
• International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology: The Case Against Amalgam
• The safety of dental amalgam and alternative dental restoration materials for patients and users
• World Health Organisation – Fact sheet 361: Mercury and Health
• World Health Organisation: Guidance for Identifying Populations at Risk From Mercury Exposure
• World Health Organisation – Exposure To Mercury: A Major Public Health Concern
• World Health Organisation welcomes international treaty on mercury