Are amalgam (silver/mercury) fillings safe?
There has been much controversy over the safety of amalgam fillings. These fillings have been used in dentistry for over 75 years. They consist of several metal particles (such as silver and copper) combined with the liquid metal – mercury. When these components are combined, they form a solid metal containing all of the individual metals (called an “amalgam”). In the early 1990s, the safety of dental amalgams came under fire. The theory was that since mercury vapor is toxic to humans, the mercury in dental amalgam fillings would also be toxic. Those against the use of dental amalgam claimed that when someone bit against the amalgam, mercury vapor was released and then ingested by the body where it could do harm. This mercury scare drove many people to the dentist to have these amalgam fillings removed. Several universities and government agencies conducted or sponsored scientific studies to determine the safety of dental amalgam.
