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12 May 2005, The Straits Times
Question
Name of the Person: Chua Seok Kim (Ms)
Are dental fillings safe?
DR TAN Soon Kiam wrote that there is no room for mercury in our body. So is mercury-almagam used as dental fillings safe?
In those who have filled teeth, saliva, food and drinks come in contact with these fillings. What if a minute amount is absorbed into the body?
Reply
Name of the Person: Professor Chew Chong Lin
Chief Dental Officer
Ministry of Health
No scientific evidence to link dental amalgam fillings with adverse health
In "Are Dental Fillings Safe" (ST 12 May) Ms Chua Seok Kim asked whether dental amalgam fillings containing mercury are safe.
Many expert panels have reviewed this issue and have categorically stated that "there was no scientifically relevant and definitive evidence that demonstrated a causal link between dental amalgam fillings and adverse health effects." However, the US Public Health Service (USPHS 1993, 1997), the health agencies of Canada (2004) and WHO (1997) recognize the rare instances of allergic reactions.
Recently, the Life Science Research Office (LSRO) acting on behalf of the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health, the Center of Devices and Radiological Health of the US FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed the available data and supported the above findings that "current data are insufficient to support an association between mercury release from dental amalgam and the various complaints that have been attributed to this restorative material."