The World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry salutes the federal government of Brazil both for accelerating its pace toward ending the use of dental amalgam, and for international leadership to amend the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

“We appreciate the important officials of the Health Ministry who took time to meet with us on 21 July to discuss the transition on Brazil to mercury-free dentistry, both for SUS* and in new government policies,” said Charlie Brown, president of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.  Officials participated from four sections of the ministry:  environmental health, oral health, occupational health, and international.

Itamaraty** has been at the forefront of having an effective international treaty addressing mercury-free dentistry,” Brown added.  “Both during the negotiations of the basic treaty in 2012, and in the adoption of the Children’s Amendment in 2022, the government of Brazil stepped forward to play an essential and constructive role.” 

Experts continue to express concern that many children of color and low-income children are still receiving mercury fillings despite the risks.  In their Health Affairs article “Children of Color and Low-Income Kids Still Receive Unsafe Mercury-Based Dental Fillings”, Dr. Rueben C. Warren, DDS, MPH, DrPH, MDiv of Tuskegee University and Dr. Mark Mitchell,MD, MPH, FACPM of George Mason University observe that…

“The data on the extent of amalgam use in the US are sparse and out of date, but in our experience as dental and medical professionals, we’ve seen that Black, Latino, Native American, and low-income kids are much more likely to get mercury-based amalgam fillings than their more affluent non-Hispanic White counterparts.”