Connecticut Considers Ban on Dental Amalgam

The New London Connecticut Day.com news has the following piece on an attempt by a state agency to ban dental amalgam:

State Considers Ban On Use Of Mercury In Dental Fillings

Little Or No Health Risk Seen But Ban May Help Remove Element From Environment

The state Department of Environmental Protection is considering whether existing state law banning the sale and use of most products containing mercury applies to dental fillings that are partially made from the toxic metal.

As part of its analysis, the DEP has invited dentists’ groups, health officials, environmental organizations and manufacturers of filling materials to present evidence for or against the ban at a meeting at 5 p.m. May 26 at its offices in Hartford, said Bob Kaliszewski, DEP ombudsman in charge of the state’s mercury reduction laws. Each silver-colored tooth filling, called amalgam, contains about half mercury.

Amalgam fillings have been in use for more than 100 years, and many people have amalgam fillings in their mouths. Proponents of the ban are not advocating that people have existing fillings removed, because that process can pose its own risks, but rather that its continued use be stopped, said Michael London, spokesman for The Coalition to Enforce Connecticut Zero Mercury Law.

The DEP agreed to weigh how the law should apply to dental amalgam after the question was raised last summer by the coalition, which supports a strict interpretation of the law. The original law, in effect since July 1, requires dentists to install special equipment to collect and recycle amalgam waste left over after a patient receives a filling, as well as other steps to reduce the amount of mercury getting into the environment from dental offices. At present about 70 percent of dentists have the equipment, Kaliszewski said.

Whether the law also requires dentists to stop using amalgam fillings altogether is the question the DEP will decide after the May 26 meeting.

“Our goal is to remove it (mercury) from the environment,” he said, noting that other mercury-containing products such as thermometers have already been virtually eliminated.

Mercury is poisonous to humans in very small quantities. It can cause brain damage, among other medical problems, and is a suspected contributor to several illnesses. Children, pregnant women and their developing fetuses are especially susceptible to the effects of mercury exposure.

Kaliszewski said one of the main debates in the dental amalgam issue is whether there are suitable alternatives to amalgam fillings. The Zero Mercury group suggests substituting amalgam with composite fillings, which are made of tooth-colored resin and are already in use by many dentists.

But the Connecticut State Dental Association and its parent organization, the American Dental Association, argue that dental amalgam is a superior material and that patients and dentists should continue to have the choice to use it. It is more affordable than composite, and poses little risk to patients because it is in an inert form in fillings, according to information on the state association’s Web site. The ADA estimates that when the initial price and longevity of the two filling types are compared, composite costs 1.7 to 3.5 times more than amalgam. Some dental insurance plans only reimburse for amalgam.

“Dental amalgam is the best restorative material, and there are areas where we can’t use composite,” said Jerry Bowman, assistant general counsel to the ADA.

He noted that no other state has thus far banned the use of amalgam.

The current law, he said, should not be interpreted to ban amalgam because that was not its original intent.

According to the Zero Mercury group and its national affiliate, Consumers for Dental Choice, dental amalgam poses an environmental risk because fillings, as they break down through wear and tear, do release mercury. Mercury residues can be found in human waste and cremation remains, and are a significant source of pollution, they contend.

About one-third of dentists have already stopped using amalgam, they said.

“Dentistry is the number one source of mercury in wastewater,” said Charles Brown, national counsel for Consumers for Dental Choice. “There’s more in our mouths than from all other uses combined.”

The DEP’s decision to review the mercury law comes about a month after the state received the top grade among the six New England states for its efforts thus far to reduce dental mercury pollution. In a report released in April, the environmental group Clean Water Action applauded Connecticut’s progress since the law took effect, giving it a “B,” but advocated further action be taken such as the banning of amalgam.

Watch closely story developing!