Mercury and Dental Offices
Many women are surprised to find out that the “silver” fillings in their mouths contain about 50% mercury.
Dentists are the third largest user of mercury in the United States. According to the EPA, the use of mercury in amalgam fillings is responsible for 7.4 tons of water releases of mercury a year! Mercury is released into the wastewater stream (mercury in the wastewater stream is discharged to a sewage treatment plant) during the placement and/or removal of amalgam fillings.
Sewage treatment plants are unable to filter out mercury. As a result, mercury waste from dental offices either ends up in the biosolids (sludge) or is released into the receiving water (a local water body such as a river).
Most sewage treatment plants either land apply or incinerate their biosolids. Biosolids laced with mercury that are land applied (often used as compost) risk causing ground contamination. The incineration of biosolids contributes to air releases of mercury.
The majority of dental offices use chairside traps and vacuum filters to capture mercury. When used in combination, and assuming the captured contents are recycled, these measures remove approximately 78% of mercury amalgam from the wastewater stream.1
Dental offices can remove even more mercury by installing an amalgam separator. Amalgam separators have been proven to remove 96-99% of remaining mercury amalgam. The American Dental Association recommends the installation of an amalgam separator as part of their recommended Best Management Practices to reduce mercury amalgam waste. In addition, many states have passed legislation and local ordinances requiring the installation of an amalgam separator.
WVE is working in Montana to reduce mercury amalgam waste from dental offices. In the spring of 2007 WVE formed a multi-stakeholder working group in Missoula to address the issue. Click here to learn more about the working group’s Waste Amalgam Treatment, Education and Recycling (W.A.T.E.R) Program.
What effects do mercury fillings have on your body?
Unfortunately, little quantitative research exists on the direct human health effects of amalgam fillings. However, anecdotal evidence shows that some people are sensitive to mercury in fillings and may experience adverse health effects including headaches and dizziness. For these individuals, removal of amalgam fillings alleviated the symptoms. It is clear that mercury fillings pose an environmental health risk to women and children in particular, who consume contaminated fish, and dentists have a societal obligation to protect the public from unnecessary exposure.
What You Can Do
- If your dentist hasn’t done so already, ask her to install an amalgam separator (a devise that removes mercury from the wastestream).
- Choose non-mercury fillings.
- Help support our work-donate now!
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Additional Resources
Download WVE's fact sheet: Dental Mercury and the Environment
Return to the main Mercury and Reproductive Justice campaign page
1 Vandeven, Jay A., and Steve L. McGinnis (2005). “An assessment of mercury in the form of amalgam in dental wastewater in the United States." Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 164, 349-366.
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