METALLOPATHY Evidence on heavy metals in people

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Dental and mercury

Is it safe to remove mercury amalgam fillings (and during pregnancy)?

FDA says it is not recommending that anyone remove or replace existing amalgam fillings in good condition unless removal is medically necessary, because removal can cause a temporary increase in mercury vapor and can remove healthy tooth. The same statement lists pregnancy among groups for whom new amalgam should be avoided when possible. From 1 January 2025, EU law says amalgam shall not be used for dental treatment in the Union except when a dentist judges it strictly necessary.

What the documents say

Higher-risk groups in the FDA statement include pregnant women and their fetuses, women planning pregnancy, nursing women and their infants, children especially under six, people with pre-existing neurological disease such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease, or Parkinson disease, people with impaired kidney function, and people with known heightened sensitivity to mercury or other amalgam components. FDA, 24 September 2020.

Regulation (EU) 2024/1849 says that from 1 January 2025 dental amalgam shall not be used for dental treatment in the Union, except when deemed strictly necessary by the dental practitioner based on the specific medical needs of the patient. A derogation allows use until 30 June 2026 where amalgam is the only publicly reimbursed material at a rate of at least 90 percent. EUR-Lex.

A SCENIHR or SCHEER opinion on dental amalgam was not captured. It is not summarized.

Related pages

Sources

  1. FDA press announcement, 24 September 2020
  2. FDA dental amalgam fillings page
  3. Regulation (EU) 2024/1849

Heavy Metal Index

Heavy Metal Index: Mercury. This Heavy Metal Index URL returned HTTP 200 on 15 October 2026. Figures on this page are not copied from that index. They come from the sources named above.

What's safe to buy

The Heavy Metal Tested and Certified public register listed no licensees on 15 October 2026. That page reported 0 certified brands and 0 certified products, and it stated that no brand has completed the three-lot baseline. A specimen layout on the register is an illustration, not a licensee. This page does not name or rank any brand.

The program states that certification is a measurement of a product against a published limit, not a statement that the product is safe. If a licensee is later listed for this category, it will be on the register.

This page summarizes cited documents. It does not diagnose or prescribe. Reviewed 15 October 2026.