WHO gives qualified backing to amalgam
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- Published: Saturday, 17 December 2011 20:04
- Written by News Editor
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| The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that ‘phasing down’ instead of ‘phasing out’ may be the prudent approach for the use of dental amalgam at this stage. Alternatives to the material existed, but the quality of these materials needed to be improved. |
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The opinion comes in a recently released document: Future use of materials for dental restoration. It is a report of a meeting held nearly two years ago in November 2009 of 29 participants from 15 countries at the WHO in Geneva. It is published at a time when the FDA in America and the EU are reconsidering their positions.
The report recognises that amalgam has been in use for 150 years and its use is still widespread across the world. It agrees that oral health promotion and disease prevention should be strengthened, but when restoration is needed the best care possible should be provided.
A few countries had phased out the use of amalgam and those who had not needed to ensure they had waste management systems to prevent the release of mercury into the environment.
Following a review of existing evidence the meeting considered that ‘all currently existing methods and materials to manage dental caries would need to remain available to the dental profession in the short- and medium-terms’. Short, medium and long term strategies needed to be considered for the ‘phasing down’ of the material.
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