CONSULATE
Consulate Dental Plans, Mercury in dental fillings not risky as once thought.
The FDA concludes mercury in dental fillings not risky. The government declared that silver dental fillings contain too little mercury to harm the millions who’ve had cavities filled with them. This includes young children, and that only people allergic to mercury need to avoid them. This was something of an about face for the FDA, which last year settled a lawsuit with anti-mercury activists by posting on its Web site a precaution saying questions remained about whether the small amount of mercury vapor the fillings can release were enough to harm the developing brains of fetuses or the very young. FDA said its final scientific review ended that concern. Still, the agency did slightly strengthen how it regulates the fillings, urging dentists to provide their patients with a government-written statement detailing the mercury controversy and what science shows.