Agency Promises to Make a Decision Next Year
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has long avoided taking a public stand on the safety or danger of mercury in silver dental fillings. However, with a recent settlement in a lawsuit brought by the organization Moms Against Mercury, the governmental health agency has finally agreed to take a stand on the issue. Eventually.
The agreement calls for the FDA to complete its reclassification of dental amalgam by July of 2009. (The agency began that process in 2002.)
Some news articles have heralded this as a major change in the FDA’s attitude toward amalgam, with headlines making grand proclamations about a new post-amalgam era.
Can you guess which of the following is not a genuine headline?
- Mercury Fillings Shattered! FDA, ADA Conspiracy to Poison Children with Toxic Mercury Fillings Exposed in Groundbreaking Lawsuit
- FDA Calls Silver Mercury Dental Fillings Harmful
- Dental Amalgams Dangerous to Pregnant Women and Children
- FDA Says Silver Dental Fillings Containing Mercury Dangerous For Pregnant Women
- Mercury In Dental Fillings Dangerous For Pregnant Women
- Oh No, We Are All Going to Die: Let’s Panic!
These are attention-grabbing headlines, to be sure! The problem is, they’re not necessarily true per se. (And okay, I made the last one up.)
In the ADA’s response to news of the decision, the dental organization disputes these suggestions. “As far as the ADA is aware, the FDA has in no way changed its approach to, or position on, dental amalgam,” reads the statement.
As part of the agreement, the FDA has updated the consumer information provided by its website on the subject of mercury and dental amalgam.
“Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses. When amalgam fillings are placed in teeth or removed from teeth, they release mercury vapor. Mercury vapor is also released during chewing. FDA’s rulemaking will examine evidence concerning whether release of mercury vapor can cause health problems, including neurological disorders, in children and fetuses.”
— Questions and Answers on Dental Amalgam (FDA Consumer Information)