Mercury in Dental Amalgam—A Neurotoxic Risk?
- Author Affiliations: Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Corresponding Author: Herbert L. Needleman, MD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3520 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3411 (hlnlead{at}pitt.edu).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Dental amalgam, which contains 50% mercury by weight, has been used for at least 150 years. Because mercury is an acknowledged neurotoxin, concerns about the health effects of exposure to this chemical are widespread. Consequently, many individuals have submitted to removal of amalgam dental fillings, an uncomfortable, expensive procedure that is not free of hazard. In this issue of JAMA, Bellinger and colleagues1 and DeRouen and colleagues2 report the first 2 randomized controlled trials comparing the health effects in children treated with mercury amalgam fillings with those treated with a composite dental restorative material.
Mercury is a highly reactive metal that has widely recognized toxic properties at high dose, including parethesias, cerebellar ataxia, dysarthria, and constriction of the visual fields.3 The significance of lower-level asymptomatic exposures on brain function is less clear, and sound clinical studies are needed to define this risk. Amalgam mercury enters the …
