You have a right to know that amalgam dental fillings are 50% mercury.
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t want you to know. FDA denies you this right by refusing to provide dental consumers with direct information – i.e., patient labeling – about amalgam’s mercury content. In its 2009 dental amalgam rule, FDA goes so far as to illogically claim that providing this information directly to consumers would somehow prevent dentists and patients from discussing treatment options.
This week, Consumers for Dental Choice filed a petition calling on FDA to require patient labeling for amalgam, which would include at least information about amalgam’s mercury, risks, and mercury-free filling options.
The petition points out that FDA continues to reject proposals to provide consumers with direct information about amalgam’s mercury even though Zogby polls show that almost 90% of people are not learning this important fact from their dentists....
....even though the Minamata Convention on Mercury requires each party to promote and facilitate provision of information on mercury-free alternatives to the public....
....even though the experience of Sweden and Norway – where amalgam use is banned – proves that public awareness of amalgam’s mercury results in a phase down of amalgam use, as the Minamata Convention requires....
....even though new international guidance from United Nations Environment Programme, a brochure entitled Lessons from Countries Phasing Down Dental Amalgam Use, urges countries to raise public awareness of amalgam’s mercury....
....even though FDA’s own expert advisory panel repeatedly says patient labeling is needed for dental amalgam....
...and even though FDA’s own Guidance on Medical Device Patient Labeling indicates that patient labeling is necessary to ensure safety and proper disposal.
It is time for FDA to get consumers the information they need to say “No” to mercury amalgam fillings. We invite you to join us in challenging FDA’s “no right to know” policy. The Director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health – and the person who signed FDA’s amalgam rule approving the industry cover-up of the mercury – is Dr. Jeff Shuren.
We urge you to email Director Shuren at Jeff.Shuren@fda.hhs.gov or call him at 301-796-5900 to ask: When will FDA order the disclosure of dental amalgam’s mercury to American parents and patients