WHO Contribution To Amalgam Debate Welcomed By British Dental Association

The British Dental Association (BDA) welcomes the World Health Organization's (WHO) publication 'Future Use of Materials for Dental Restorations' which reports about using different materials in dental fillings reflecting the November 2009 meeting at WHO's Geneva headquarters regarding environmental and health factors that arise from using different filling materials.

According to the report, the use of dental amalgam should be weighed up carefully and rather than phasing amalgam out, it should be phased-down in a multi-level approach for short-, medium- and long-term elements.

It also claims that the quality of amalgam alternatives in public dental care must be improved further, reasoning that a steady withdrawal from using amalgam would depend on achieving better qualities.
Stuart Johnston, Chair of the BDA's Representative Body and a member of the FDI World Dental Federation Dental Amalgam Task Team, commented:

    "This is a thorough report that provides a balanced view of the use of different filling materials in dentistry and will make a useful contribution to the ongoing debate in this area.

    Dentists find amalgam to be a stable material for fillings, with good handling properties. Expert toxicologists and medics have reported no evidence that it causes harm to patients. The alternative materials that are available are not so well proven and have their own disadvantages.

    The environmental risks around amalgam use are taken extremely seriously and modern disposal processes are very sophisticated in preventing mercury emissions. In the long term, of course, the aim should be that preventive care advances sufficiently so that the need for fillings is diminished.

    In the meantime, it is important that the potential problems with, and likely impact of, any change in policy are fully considered by the experts and competent authorities who make decisions about the use of dental amalgam and other fillings materials."

Tags: amalgam dental materials fillings should different using report