Dentists urged to stop using tooth fillings containing mercury

Environmental group Ban Toxics (BT) on Thursday urged dentists and schools around the country to stop using dental amalgams — which contains mercury —  used to restore teeth with cavities.

 

In a statement, the group said dental amalgam or "silver fillings" contains fifty percent of mercury, which is harmful to health and the environment. Exposure to mercury may lead to pneumonia, bronchitis, chest pain, dyspnea, cough, stomatitis, gingivitis, excessive salivation, and diarrhea, it added.

 

Likewise, chronic exposure to low level of mercury vapor may impact the nervous system, which causes tremors, behavior changes, and abnormal reflexes, while high level of mercury may cause severe injuries to organ systems, including the kidney, liver, brain, heart, and colon, the group said.

 

This is the reason the Department of Health has planned a phase out of dental amalgam in three years. "If successful, this move will make the Philippines compliant with the requirements of the Minamata Convention of Mercury, and places it among the leaders in the field of mercury elimination," it said.

 

However, a study conducted by the group revealed that mercury vapor in dental schools exceeded standard reference levels set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

 

"The exposure to toxic mercury vapors in dental institutions is unnecessary and preventable. Learning methodologies can be put into place to avoid toxic mercury. This should itself be a strong incentive as well to abandon dental amalgam use in its entirety in the Philippines," said Atty. Richard Gutierrez, executive director of Ban Toxics.

 

In an interview with GMA News Online, Angelica Carballo-Pago, Ban Toxics communications and media officer, said the curriculum in many dental schools in the country requires students to use the harmful dental amalgams.

 

Dr. Lillian Ebuen, International Association of Oral Medicine and Toxicology-Philippines said schools should use alternatives to dental amalgams.

 

"Pinakaunang ituro ang paglalagay ng amalgam. Comparing sa tibay, mas matibay ang amalgam dahil metal. 'Di man matibay, with the advent of technology, madami nang alternatives without the health risk, na ngayon pa lang lumalabas," she said, when asked in a press conference on Thursday.

 

"Mercury-free alternatives are now widely-available which safer and as cost effective as amalgam.  Philippine dentistry should move beyond amalgam and we should prepare the future generation of dentists to embrace better and safer alternatives for their patients," she added.  — ELR, GMA News