African governments, dentists, and consumers are increasingly turning against the use of dental amalgam, the highly controversial dental fillings material that is 50% mercury.

In 2006, Dr. Myron Wentz authored A Mouth Full of Poison, a book condemning toxic mercury-based dental amalgam and calling for an end to its use.  His subsequent economic successes as founder of USANA Health Sciences have permitted him to transform this idea into action: he has fully funded the African campaign of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry for the last four years.

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.

We are working from home during the pandemic, but the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry team is still producing victories for mercury-free dentistry.

Now one of the largest African nations in both size and population, Tanzania, has adopted guidelines that will end amalgam use for children and for women of childbearing age. Continue reading →

Civil society organizations (CSOs) across the continent are celebrating the third annual Africa Day for Amalgam-Free Dentistry.  The celebration this year is a particularly special one since they are calling upon African governments to ban the use of mercury-containing dental amalgam in children’s milk teeth.

Since, children are a vulnerable population and it is certain that the amalgam’s mercury in their milk teeth has for its final destination the environment, Africa CSOs dedicated this day, to raise awareness of all relevant stakeholders in order to push for the total ban of this mercury product in milk teeth. Continue reading →

On 25 April 2015, Francophone NGOs convened in Abidjan to discuss the route to mercury-free dentistry in Africa. This second NGO summit voted to create a road map that can be implemented in every African nation. Here, then, is the Abidjan Plan to implement the Abuja Declaration for Mercury-Free Dentistry for Africa*:

A. Political, legal and institutional level

1. Work for government policies that will phase out amalgam use in Africa by the year 2020. Continue reading →