Here’s how RFK Jr. can ban ‘silver’ fills in American dentistry

As a presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy promised to stop the federal housing with a “stroke” – a promise he held.

Today, nephew, Minister of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., can do the same – making Americans healthier and our environment safer, ending the continued use of toxic mercury in federal programs. Mercury is the primary substance (more than 50%) in Amalgama products that dentists in favor of Mercury-fortunately, in a sharp decline in America-have falsely been highlighted as “silver” fills for more than a century.

The “stroke of the pen” would be a mandate for the Public Health Service and the Indian Health Service to avoid Amalgama sales-and instead to buy only mercury without mercury materials.

Dental Amalgama owes its silver appearance to large quantities of mercury in each fill – according to some studies, to infect a small lake. Amalgama is a primitive, pre-political war material whose use has been banned or confined to advanced countries around the world. During the last year of Trump’s first administration, the Food and Drug Administration issued warnings not to implant Amalgama (due to the risk of mercury exposure) in the mouths of the wide categories of Americans, including young children. Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning pregnancy. and people with kidney or neurological conditions affected by metal sensitivity. In other words, about one -third of the nation’s population.

Both major US dental manufacturers, Dentsply and Envista, quickly stopped and prudently producing amalgam. Many dentists also took the call and changed to dentistry without mercury. End of the story? Not yet.

Unfortunately, our federal government has not fully complied with the FDA’s recommendations against Amalgama. In the four years between the two Trump administrations, some government agencies have simply ignored the FDA security recommendations. Mercury -based fills continued to go to the mouths of American Indian children, pregnant military military and veterans with kidney problems or neurological issues.

The barricade? The bureaucrats at the top: The main dental officers who seem to be locked in a stance “This is the way we have always done it”. The head of Dental Director of the Public Health Service, Admiral Timothy Ricks, refused to meet with the National Medical Union, an adversary amalgam, to enforce the FDA recommendation. Public Health successor, Head Dental Director of Admiral Michael Johnson, did the same: without meetings with mercury -based adversaries.

Where does the US government get this amalgam? Mainly from imports. An Australian occasional company, Southern Dental Industries, grabbed the market share of the two American Amalgans. Thus, among the terms Trump, the federal government supported the Australian economy with significant toxic material markets that the FDA said was a health risk to millions of Americans.

The environmental impacts of mercury filling were just as serious. An EPA regulation adopted by the first Trump administration noted that dental amalgams poisoned fish that children eat often cause permanent brain damage.

Amalgama is completely prohibited in 41 countries, including the entire European Union. Amalgama is prohibited for use in children or generally uselessness in 35 other countries. During the transition to modern dentistry, the United States has fallen back.

At the beginning of his career, as a full -time environment, RFK Jr. It was Hudson Riverkeeper. Focusing on a clean river Hudson, he repeatedly warned the risks to fish (and humans) from great sources of mercury. His interest in ending the use of dental Amalgama continued during his time with the groups of public interests he ran: the Mercury World Work and the Defense of Children’s Health. Has demonstrated a deep understanding of the problem of mercury. Now, it has the power to terminate the use of dental amalgam based on mercury in federal government programs forever.

As Jack’s uncle did 63 years ago, Rfk Jr. It can do it with the hit of a pen.

Charles G. Brown is an Executive Consumer Director for dental choice, www.mercury free.org .