Four U.S. organizations have petitioned Florida health officials to immediately stop using dental amalgam in children covered by Medicaid.
The Consumers for Dental Choice, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and the Mercury Policy Project are calling for the end of this practice, citing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2020 warning against using mercury-based fillings in at-risk populations, including children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Dental amalgam, which contains 50% mercury, is banned in all 27 European Union countries, and U.S. manufacturers stopped producing it following the FDA’s safety alert.
Florida Medicaid, however, still allows their use, even though safer alternatives like composites and ionomers are reimbursed at the same rate.
