Although many dentist’s now refer to them as silver fillings, amalgam fillings, or simply metal fillings, the fillings that most Americans have in their back molars frequently have a mercury content of 50% or higher.

The other half of the filling material consists of mostly silver followed by small amounts of tin and copper. The American Dental Association’s position has stated that the alloy used in dental fillings is a biologically inactive substance. In several other countries, however, including Austria, Germany, Japan, Norway, and Sweden mercury fillings have either been severely restricted or outright ban.

The crux of the argument rests in a medical discovery published made in 1882 that mercury fillings release a small, but constant amount of mercury vapor. The ADA says that the vapor is harmless; so all suggestions for long term studies of the health effects of mercury fillings have currently been abandoned. The side effects of mercury poisoning include brain damage, autism, liver damage, and birth defects when women are exposed to the chemical during pregnancy.

Most dental patients have never been informed that the first serious dental organization to be founded in the United States was the now disbanded, American Society of Dental Surgeons. All dentists applying for admission into this elite society were required to sign a mandatory pledge to avoid the use of mercury fillings because of the dangers of mercury poisoning. Dentists who broke their pledge were disbanded from the society. Unfortunately for the ASDS, mercury fillings were cheap and easy to install. The mercury filling users soon founded their own professional dentist’s club. Capitalism prevailed and the ASDS was forced to disband in 1856 due to loss of membership. The mercury filling enthusiasts’ society still exists in its modern incarnation, the American Dental Association.