The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety communication recommending against amalgam use in people who are at higher risk from the adverse effects of mercury exposure, including…

• Pregnant women and their developing babies
• Women who are planning to become pregnant
• Nursing women and their newborns and infants
• Children, especially those younger than six years of age
• People with pre-existing neurological disease
• People with impaired kidney function
• People with known heightened sensitivity (allergy) to mercury or other components of dental amalgam.

This list, of course, encompasses a significant part of the American population.  As such, FDA’s action has the potential to protect millions and millions of Americans from mercury in their mouths.