Author: World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry

The Philippines is phasing out amalgam

World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry Asia

The Philippines Department of Health just completed and signed an administrative order that phases out dental amalgam in the Philippines in three years!  Furthermore, it immediately bans amalgam use in pregnant women, children under the age of 14, breastfeeding mothers, and persons with compromised renal and immune systems.

With this accomplishment, the Philippines becomes the second country in Asia (after Nepal) within a year to announce plans to phase out amalgam use – proving that this risky mercury product is not needed anywhere.

Continue reading →

Dr. Myron Wentz announces grant to fully fund a third year of the Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry for Africa

World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry Africa

Scientist and philanthropist Dr. Myron Wentz announces he is funding the 2020 campaign of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry seeking to transition the great continent of Africa to mercury-free dentistry. This will be the third year he has fully funded this campaign.

Dental amalgam is a nineteenth-century, tooth-unfriendly pollutant, 50% composed of the neurotoxin mercury, whose technology has been far surpassed by affordable, effective, and available alternatives. Governments across Africa have endorsed plans to transition away from amalgam use into non-polluting, safer alternatives, but are hampered by outside lobbying  interests who profit off continued amalgam sales to Africa.

Continue reading →

Giant step toward a full amalgam phase out in Europe

World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry Europe

At a by-invitation-only workshop last Thursday in Brussels, the European Union took a giant step toward phasing out all amalgam use – and our European team was there to make sure it happened!

The EU amalgam regulation we won in 2017 not only banned amalgam use in children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers; it also required the European Commission to issue a report on the feasibility of phasing out dental amalgam use by 2030. The draft of that report was presented at this workshop, where our European team was present in full force to support its conclusion: amalgam use in the EU should be phased out by 2025.  Continue reading →

Amalgam takes center stage at Minamata Convention talks

World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry International

Amalgam was center stage at last month’s 3rd conference of the parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury – from beginning to end.

On opening day, the environment minister of Indonesia dramatically announced that its president would sign an order in 2020 ending amalgam use totally. Not to be outmatched, the European Union explained a process it will undertake next year that could result in a recommendation to phase out amalgam. Then the entire African region asked for a worldwide deadline for amalgam use.

Our team was honored to assist government delegations – even as the negotiations stretched into the night…and didn’t end until 5:00 am in the morning. A consensus was finally reached on the last day when the parties decided…

Continue reading →