Dental Mercury Amalgams

Mercury amalgams are alloys of mercury (a heavy metal that can produce severe organ damage) with other metals. They are used in dentistry as filling materials for treatment of dental caries. In some countries, dental mercury amalgams are classified as medicines and therefore subjected to rigorous regulations. In other countries (among them the United States), they are considered devices; therefore, they have not been submitted to the strict official government testing required for medicines.

Although mercury toxicity is well known, scientific studies on the potential health effects of mercury amalgams used in dentistry have come to opposite conclusions.

Mercury

Mercury is, after plutonium, the most toxic substance on the Earth. If mercury is ingested or inhaled, it is quickly assimilated and accumulates in various tissues, affecting primarily ...

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