Consumers for Dental Choice - US Govt Calls for Amalgam Phase-out

[Guest guest]

[forwarded from Consumers for Dental Choice]

U.S. government calls for the phase-out of amalgam!

In an extraordinary development that will change the global debate about

amalgam, the United States government has announced that it supports a

“phase down, with the goal of eventual phase out by all Parties, of

mercury amalgam.” This statement – a radical reversal of its former

position that “any change toward the use of dental amalgam is likely to

result in positive public health outcomes” – is part of the U.S.

government’s submission for the upcoming third round of negotiations for

the world mercury treaty.*

While couched in diplomatic hedging – remember it is still early in the

negotiations – this new U.S. position makes three significant

breakthroughs for the mercury-free dentistry movement:

1. The U.S. calls for the phase-out of amalgam ultimately and recommends

actions to “phase down” its use immediately. Incredibly, the government

adopted three actions that the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry

and Consumers for Dental Choice proposed at the negotiating session in

Chiba, Japan. Our key ally, The Mercury Policy Project, laid the

groundwork for this success at a World Health Organization meeting in 2009!

2. The U.S. speaks up for protecting children and the unborn from

amalgam, recommending that the nations “educat[e] patients and parents

in order to protect children and fetuses.”

3. The U.S. stands up for the human right of every patient and parent to

make educated decisions about amalgam.

What does this mean? Our position – advocating the phase-out of amalgam

– is now the mainstream because the U.S. government supports it. Who is

the outlier now? It’s the pro-mercury faction, represented by the World

Dental Federation and the American Dental Association. With the U.S.

continuing its leadership role in this treaty, we will broadcast the

U.S. position to other governments around the world, encouraging them to

support amalgam “phase downs” leading to phase-outs not only globally,

but within each of their countries.

We applaud the U.S. government. But tough work lies ahead. For example,

we must demonstrate to the world that the available alternatives – such

as composites and the adhesive materials used in atraumatic restorative

treatment (“ART”) – can cost less than amalgam and will increase access

to dental care particularly in developing countries.

For now though, let’s mark this watershed in the mercury-free dentistry

movement: the debate has shifted from “whether to end amalgam” to “how

to end amalgam.”

-- Charlie

G. Brown

National Counsel, Consumers for Dental Choice

President, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry

5 April 2011

* The full text of the U.S. submission is available at

http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Mercury/Documents/INC3/United%\

20States.pdf

Here is the excerpt on amalgam:

" We are aware that several delegations at INC-2 suggested mercury

amalgam should not be included in Annex C, noting a number of

difficulties and complexities related to this issue. The United States

supports further consideration of dental amalgam by the INC such that

the agreement is able to achieve the phase down, with the goal of

eventual phase out by all Parties, of mercury amalgam upon the

development and availability of affordable, viable alternatives. To the

extent that Annex C is not structured to accomplish such a goal, the

United States believes that a number of obligations could be considered

within an appropriate operative paragraph of the agreement itself. Such

a paragraph could commit Parties to phase down the use of mercury

amalgam or address mercury releases through conducting and promoting

further research on alternatives, mandating the use of separators in

dental offices, promoting and incentivizing prevention strategies,

educating patients and parents in order to protect children and fetuses,

and training of dental professionals on the environmental impacts of

mercury in dental amalgams, and to report on their progress in doing so

to inform the Conference of the Parties on the progress being made to

phase down amalgam use. "

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