In an audacious move of brazen deception, the American Dental Association (ADA), an amalgam patentholder, promoted dental amalgam as "silver fillings" — and doubled down on the cover-up by adopting a rule of conduct that barred dentists from discussing the (obvious) toxicity of mercury.
Well, I'm here to tell you that the "silver" filling is in actually a mercury filling. Mercury is not only toxic, but the most vaporous of the heavy metals, and can reach to the brain, the kidneys, the placenta, and breast milk.
The ADA's callous and irresponsible promotion of mercury-based dentistry — when the alternatives are technically better now and much more tooth friendly — continues to have severe health, workplace, and environmental consequences. Modern dentists never use dental amalgam. If your dentist still places amalgam in any dental patient, it's time to take your business elsewhere.
Consumers for Dental Choice Brought a Revolution to American Dentistry
When Charlie Brown, executive director for Consumers for Dental Choice, and I started working together, the federal government and the states sat firmly, on dentistry matters, in the pocket of the ADA. Similarly, international agencies were in the pocket of the pro-mercury World Dental Federation. With tenacity, Charlie built a worldwide nonprofit powerhouse, and with strategic brilliance, found the path to dismantle the pro-amalgam machine.
Amalgam is now banned across Europe, and in several African and Asian nations. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization have switched from being amalgam advocates to amalgam opponents. Convincing either FDA or WHO to switch from support to opposition of a profitable product is extremely rare; changing both of these impenetrable colossi is, well, unprecedented in my experience.
Millions and millions of American consumers — and billions worldwide — have been spared from the health risk of mercury-based fillings as a result of Charlie's efforts. Three decades ago, the late mercury-free dental pioneer Hal Huggins asked him to help a billion people. It now appears he has done so.
But as I explain below, we still do not have mercury-free dentistry for all. We must keep the momentum going to banish use of this primitive, pre-Civil War pollutant from our planet.
So, for the 16th consecutive year I am stepping up to match every dollar donated to Consumers for Dental Choice from now until midnight EST on August 22, 2026, up to $150,000 total. Let's give Consumers for Dental Choice the resources it needs and merits. You may click this button below to donate online:
>>>>> Click Here <<<<<
Or you can mail a check to:
Consumers for Dental Choice
727 15th St. NW, Suite 701
Washington, DC 20005
Consumers for Dental Choice Stands Up for Powerless Dental Consumers
Testifying before Congress a few years ago, the witness for the esteemed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said American dentistry is "choice for the rich and mercury for the poor." Consumers for Dental Choice was created with the vision that if consumers have a choice — an informed choice — they'll reject the mercury filling in favor of the non-toxic one.
But many consumers are powerless to choose, including soldiers and sailors, institutionalized individuals, people stuck in government programs, and people saddled with cut-rate insurance plans that still favor mercury.
These consumers and their children are commonly victims of pro-mercury dentists who falsely tell patients amalgam is "silver," They're the victims of callous government chief dental officers who don't acknowledge that the FDA now warns against amalgam use in children and other high-risk populations. They're victims of dental insurance companies that squeeze every dollar from consumers without regard to safety. Consumers for Dental Choice is determined to change that and end amalgam for ALL individuals.
Consumers for Dental Choice's Initiative to Make Federal Government Programs Mercury-Free
Despite the FDA safety communication warning against amalgam use in children and other high-risk populations, the single biggest purchaser of amalgam in the United States is our own government. Its dental programs continue to implant dental mercury into our soldiers and sailors, into institutionalized persons, and families on Medicaid.
After years of pounding on doors, Consumers for Dental Choice finally got the government to the table in Washington, DC to talk about ending amalgam. Assembled were government officials representing the FDA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State Department, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Indian Health Service (IHS), who met with a broad range of environmental, medical, dental, science, and consumer leaders.
Now we see the results. Consumers for Dental Choice convinced the IHS to publish its "Plan to Phase Down the Use of Dental Amalgam among American Indians/Alaska Natives 2010 — 2030 (or until dental amalgam is phased out in the U.S.)."1 It includes such effective measures as:
• "Provide guidance to IHS, tribal, and urban dental programs to cease the use of dental amalgam on deciduous (primary) teeth"
• "Conduct a national webinar for IHS dental providers regarding the 2020 FDA Safety Communication and this phase-down plan"
• "Develop policies that reduce the amount of dental amalgam purchased by IHS service units"
Consumers for Dental Choice also called on Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to go even further. In March 2025, Charlie wrote a guest column in the Tampa Bay Times urging Secretary Kennedy to end amalgam use in federal programs with the "stroke of a pen"2 — that is, ban purchases of mercury-based dental fillings by all federal health agencies.
A couple of months later, 150 dental professionals also signed onto a letter calling on Secretary Kennedy to end dental amalgam in government programs.3
Kennedy listened. In early February 2026, the IHS announced it will "end the use of mercury-containing dental amalgam in its facilities by 2027, transitioning to mercury-free restorative materials across IHS and tribal dental programs."4
"This is a commonsense step that protects patients and prevents harm before it starts," Kennedy said in the press release. "By switching to safer, mercury-free alternatives, IHS puts prevention first and upholds its responsibility to tribal communities and future generations. This is exactly the kind of practical, evidence-based action that defines the Make America Healthy Again agenda."5
Then in July 2026, Kennedy responded with further action. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent a notification urging all state Medicaid directors to phase out the use of mercury-containing dental fillings by restricting or ending their state’s Medicaid coverage for amalgam. As he explained:
“Mercury has no place in the mouths of our children or in modern American health care. For decades, we have relied on a material that contains one of the world's most toxic heavy metals when safe, effective mercury-free alternatives are widely available … Taxpayer dollars should support the safest care available — not yesterday's materials ...”6
Because each state can accept or reject what Washington urges, Consumers for Dental Choice has launched a coast-to-coast campaign to abolish mercury fillings for low-income Americans. As I’ve said for the last 16 years, your contributions make a difference, as Consumers for Dental Choice tackles the barriers to mercury-free dentistry for people with no choice from every angle!
>>>>> Click Here <<<<<
Consumers for Dental Choice's Initiative to Make State Government Programs Mercury-Free
To effect change in our federal constitutional system, it takes initiatives both in Washington and in state capitals. Three state projects launched by Consumers for Dental Choice serve as models for the rest for the country:
• Florida — Assembling four national organizations, Consumers for Dental Choice filed a petition to Tallahassee to end amalgam use in Florida Medicaid. They also held a zoom meeting with Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who in a subsequent August 25, 2025, Florida Department of Health bulletin7 recommended against the use of dental amalgam for routine fillings due to the risks of mercury exposure.
While a step in the right direction, this recommendation is not a binding rule or ban, so the work in Florida continues.
• Rhode Island — Consumers for Dental Choice is building a grassroots movement in the Ocean State, finding real interest among environmental groups, racial justice advocates, and dental professionals.
• California — Consumers for Dental Choice is working with the Alameda County (Oakland) Consumer Affairs Commission to empower consumer choice.
Consumers for Dental Choice is also working to clean up the dental industry by:
• Cutting off amalgam supply — Consumers for Dental Choice has already pushed major U.S. dental products makers Dentsply and Envista (Kerr) out of the amalgam business. Today, the major American companies make only mercury-free fillings.
• Cutting off amalgam demand — As Consumers for Dental Choice wins bans and restrictions on amalgam, the demand for this mercury product continues to drop. Countries banning amalgam sweep across Asia, notably the Philippines and Indonesia, to Africa, notably Tanzania and Gabon, into the Caribbean (St. Kitts and Nevis).
• Cutting off the amalgam trade — A recent European Union law not only bans amalgam use, but also bans amalgam imports and exports, cutting off dental mercury peddlers — both in the EU and abroad — from many markets.
• Pushing the FDA to ban mercury amalgam outright — In April 2026, Consumers for Dental Choice, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and the Mercury Policy Project petitioned the FDA to ban amalgam.8 Their filing argues that amalgam meets two criteria that allow the agency to ban its use:
1. Marketing amalgam as "silver" fillings amounts to consumer deception since mercury is its main component.
2. Mercury amalgam poses an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury — a fact that is increasingly recognized across government agencies, health authorities, industry, and international policy.
Consumers for Dental Choice Wins Amalgam Bans
When Charlie went to Brussels in 2011 to launch the campaign that led to victory, things were bad — only two countries in the E.U. were interested in mercury-free dentistry. Europe was the largest user of amalgam in the world. Governmental officials read from talking points supplied by the pro-mercury Council of European Dentists.
Charlie assembled a team from the 27 member nations, which returned repeatedly to the federal capital, Brussels, went to the national capitals, and successfully organized a response to a European Commission poll demonstrating that 88% of Europeans wanted mercury-free dentistry.
To run the campaign in Europe, Charlie appointed Florian Schulze, leader of an exciting new NGO in Berlin, the European Network for Environmental Medicine. Florian and his NGO engineered the breakthrough our cause needed: A law in 2017 that banned amalgam for children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. The goal then upshifted to mercury-free dentistry for all — a path requiring a Biblical seven more years of grueling challenges.
The result finally blossomed into fruition in 2024: a vote to ban amalgam was 27 nations for, zero nations against. What started with two countries in support in 2011 morphed into unanimity in 2024. The European Parliament supported the ban 98% to 2%. It's hard to imagine such a near-unanimity from a legislative body!
In addition to the growing number of countries banning all amalgam, many countries — from Vietnam to Mauritius to Tunisia — have banned amalgam use for high-risk populations like children. Even China has joined them. China issued a new regulation in 2024 that in translation says, "Dental amalgam is prohibited for use in dental treatment of deciduous teeth, patients under 15 years of age, and pregnant and lactating women, unless the dentist deems it necessary based on the needs of the patient."
Showdown Last November
The World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, the international coalition Charlie chairs, has convinced the governments to shift the focus of the Minamata Convention on mercury from "phase down amalgam" to "phase out amalgam." In 2022 the Parties adopted the Children's Amendment addressing an end date for amalgam for children and for pregnant and breastfeeding women. In 2023 the Parties adopted a phase out of dental amalgam as a worldwide goal.
In November 2025, the Minamata Convention on Mercury reconvened: at the top of the agenda was whether to shift treaty language from phase out amalgam as a goal to phase out of amalgam as a legal mandate.
Charlie Brown lead a civil society delegation from 13 nations at the conference of the parties, from November 3 through November 7, 2025, in Geneva. The voice of mercury-free dentistry was well-represented, and it paid off. On November 7, 2025, the Parties agreed to set 2034 as the global phase-out date, after which the manufacture, import, or export of dental amalgam will no longer be permitted.9 In short, the amendment10 sets a binding date rather than an aspirational goal.
An exemption clause allows the use of amalgam when a dental practitioner considers it necessary based on the patient's needs, but the 2034 deadline and that exemption were paired specifically to avoid widening oral-health inequalities in countries that can't yet make the transition. Late endorsements from key players — including U.S. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Brazil, and the WHO — helped push the agreement through.11 The EU, which had already phased out amalgam domestically, welcomed the outcome.
Your Help Makes a Big Difference!
Consumers for Dental Choice is an amazingly effective nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advocating mercury-free dentistry. Its talented team of consumer advocates, environmentalists, and health professionals work tirelessly to continue the fight against dental mercury around the world.
Please consider donating to this worthwhile cause to help eliminate mercury fillings, which will eliminate one of the largest sources of mercury toxicity and mercury-related illness. I'll match your gift, dollar for dollar, during the week of August 16 through 22, 2026. Click the button below to donate online.
>>>>> Click Here <<<<<
Or mail a check to:
Consumers for Dental Choice
727 15th St. NW, Suite 701
Washington, DC 20005
With your help, Consumers for Dental Choice's campaign will ensure mercury- free dentistry for all!
Resources to Help You Choose a Mercury-Free Dentist
One way to help this cause without spending a dollar is to insist on mercury-free dental fillings. The following organizations can help you find a mercury-free dentist in your local area:
Test Your Knowledge with Today's Quiz!
Take today’s quiz to see how much you’ve learned from yesterday’s Mercola.com article.
Which symptom is not commonly linked to Type 2 diabetes?
- Frequent urination
- Joint stiffness
Type 2 diabetes commonly causes thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, and blurred vision as blood sugar remains elevated. Learn more.
- Excessive thirst
- Blurred vision