Amalgam fillings are not placed in my practice, as there are numerous reasons that go against using this toxic material from my point of view.
In 2018, amalgam is still seen by German health insurers as standard care – free for the patients – but on the other hand, we dentists have to treat it as hazardous waste and recycle it accordingly.
Outside of humans, amalgam is classified as toxic hazardous waste.
So-called amalgam separators are used to make sure that the amalgam that we dentists remove from the mouth doesn’t find its way into the water cycle.
Effective 1 July 1995, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) laid out restrictions for applying amalgam.
Among other things, it is regulated here that amalgam should not be applied in the following circumstances:
Amalgam allergy (proven)
Pregnancy
Women and girls of childbearing age
Children under six years of age
Patients with severe renal dysfunction
Retrograde root fillings
In Sweden, the use of mercury was generally banned in 2009 by the Ministry of Environment.