It has been more than a year since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked dentists to stop using amalgam—the familiar silver-colored material used to fill cavities—in children and other “high risk” groups. That’s because amalgam contains 50 percent mercury, a well-known neurotoxicant.

The risks are alarming. We know that mercury from amalgam is absorbed into the body, where it can be detected in blood and tissue samples. The more amalgam fillings a person has, the higher their blood levels of mercury. Mercury exposure is associated with irreversible cognitive and neurological impairment, as well as other long-term health impacts. Children, whose brains are still developing, are at greatest risk from exposure to neurotoxicants such as mercury.

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