Going…Going…Could It Soon Be ‘Gone’ For Amalgam?
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- Published: Thursday, 18 January 2024 10:55
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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From January 1st 2025, the use of dental amalgam will be forbidden across Europe following a vote by the EU Parliament to ban the material.
Not only are dentists in EU member states on the cusp of being forbidden to use amalgam , but the manufacture and export of the popular dental restoration material from the EU will also be forbidden and therefore grind to a halt. This move could have serious consequences for UK dentistry.
The imposition of the EU’s updated Mercury Regulations was originally scheduled for 2030, buying another five years of shelf life for the product.
Bringing the activation date forward to January 2025 will require a speedy assessment by the British dental profession and those who fund it, in particular with regard to Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland shares a border to the South and West with the Republic of Ireland which is an EU member state, but under the Terms of the U.K.’s Brexit negotiations, the province adheres to EU Terms.
Dental amalgam may look unattractive and few patients with the means to afford composite fillings would, unless they are indifferent to aesthetics, choose an amalgam over a ’white’ filling. But from a clinical perspective, it is still considered a superior material for some restorations on account of its strength.
NHS dentists have used the material since before the inception of the NHS, in fact the history of amalgam goes back 150 years. Not only is it relatively inexpensive, it takes a fraction of the time of composite alternatives to place making it ideal for the delivery of NHS work, characterised as it is by high volume appointment diaries.
The removal of amalgam from the chairside drawers of Northern Ireland’s dental surgeries is likely to have considerable implications. In the absence of compensation, dentists will incur additional expense to purchase alternatives, require lengthier appointments, and consequently see fewer patients. This, in the nation that tops the UK charts for the number of fillings its citizens have.
And whilst England, Scotland and Wales are not confronting a ban, there’s the very real possibility of supply chain disruption and increased cost as the world’s largest trading area becomes an ’amalgam-free’ zone.
The British Dental Association Chair, Eddie Crouch, has written to the CDO’s or each UK region urging them to anticipate and act on the repercussions of the EU’s decision.
In his letter, Crouch reminds the CDO’s that no alternative material exists which is as speedy to place, nor lasts as long, as amalgam and he urged them to ’work with the industry to secure an ongoing supply of amalgam’.
Crucially, for dentists in Northern Ireland, Mr Crouch asked the CDOs to ’work with the BDA to ensure that there is no financial impact on dentists from the need to use alternative materials’.
In its statement the BDA, which has ’long supported a phase-down in dental amalgam’ said ’MEPs backed amendments stating that Member States need to “ensure appropriate reimbursement is made available for mercury-free alternatives” to limit the socio-economic impact. That is precisely what’s needed from UK Governments.
“When we are set to lose a key weapon in the treatment of tooth decay all four UK Governments appear asleep at the wheel” said Eddie Crouch.
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