The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a notification to the directors of state Medicaid programs urging them to phase out mercury-containing fillings by limiting or ending coverage for dental amalgam.
This is another move by the Trump administration to eliminate the use of mercury dental fillings, which may pose health and environmental risks. In February, the U.S. Indian Health Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced it would stop using mercury-containing amalgam fillings by 2027.
“Mercury has no place in the mouths of our children or in modern American health care,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an HHS press release dated July 22. “... Taxpayer dollars should support the safest care available -- not yesterday's materials. It's time to turn the page on dental amalgam and help every state move toward safer, mercury-free care.”
In 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that amalgam poses a threat to vulnerable patients, including those who are pregnant, nursing, and individuals with some preexisting medical conditions. Instead of recommending a complete ban on dental amalgam, the FDA advised that high-risk individuals, such as pregnant women, avoid getting these fillings “whenever possible and appropriate.”
In its notification to states, CMS stated that programs should consider restricting or ending coverage for dental procedure codes related to dental amalgams or incentivizing providers to use procedure codes for resin-based composite filling materials.
“Because state plans do not typically include this level of detail, a state plan amendment is likely not necessary to effectuate this type of policy change,” according to the press release.
Additionally, the notification reminded states that the U.S. is party to the United Nations Minamata Convention on Mercury. In November 2025, the convention banned the global manufacture and trade of mercury-added dental amalgam, effective January 1, 2035. The move is a step toward protecting the environment and eliminating the harmful effects of mercury poisoning.
“Americans should feel confident that the health care they receive is always working in their best interest,” Dr. Mehmet Oz, CMS administrator, said in the press release. “That's why we're urging state Medicaid programs to end the use of mercury-containing dental fillings.”
