Proposal to Eliminate Dental Amalgam Use Gains Momentum

A coalition of 50 environmental, public health, and children’s rights groups called for an end to the controversial filling material – dental amalgam – in American children, and for a two-year general phase-out in its use in the United States.  Supporters include many major national nonprofit groups, including Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Health Care Without Harm, Clean Water Action, Consumers for Dental Choice, and Learning Disabilities Association of America.

The paper, known as the Chicago Declaration, was unveiled at a news conference held at the University of Illinois at Chicago and chaired by Charlie Brown, president of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.  Brown noted, “Starting July 1, the European Union bans amalgam for children under 15; the U.S. needs to act too.”

Once the mainstay of dentistry, amalgam is now in sharp decline and is discontinued in several countries.  Despite its deceptive name “silver fillings,” amalgam’s main component is actually mercury, a neurotoxin and a heavy metal.

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