Poison via the mouth.
Mon 5:38 am +00:00, 17 Aug 2026End System of Choice for the Rich and Mercury for the Poor!
Help Bring Mercury-Free Dentistry to All
Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola
August 17, 2026
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mercury free dentistry week dental amalgam ban
Story at-a-glance
August 16 through 22, 2026, we celebrate our 16th Mercury-Free Dentistry Week. Consumers for Dental Choice has engineered a tectonic shift in dentistry — modern dentists no longer place mercury-based dental fillings (amalgam) — and aware consumers shun them Unlike a decade ago, neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor the World Health Organization defends amalgam, and major dental products companies have stopped making it.
During the last 16 years, I have watched my friend Charlie Brown, executive director for Consumers for Dental Choice, build a powerhouse national and international force that is changing dentistry 180-degrees, from mercury-based to mercury-free.
In early February 2026, the U.S. Indian Health Service announced it will “end the use of mercury-containing dental amalgam in its facilities by 2027, transitioning to mercury-free restorative materials across IHS and tribal dental program”.
In July 2026, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent a notification urging – but not requiring – all state Medicaid directors to phase out the use of mercury-containing dental fillings by restricting or ending their state’s Medicaid coverage for amalgam.
But the fight is far from over.
Amalgam is still routinely used in government programs serving our military, the institutionalized, and low-income families. To end this morally unacceptable system of choice for the rich and mercury for the poor, once again I put my money where my mouth is. Until midnight on August 22, 2026, I will match your gift to Consumers for Dental Choice, dollar for dollar. I’m all in with this cause and ask you to join me!
In an audacious move of brazen deception, the American Dental Association (ADA), an amalgam patentholder, promoted dental amalgam as “silver fillings” — and doubled down on the cover-up by adopting a rule of conduct that barred dentists from discussing the (obvious) toxicity of mercury.
Well, I’m here to tell you that the “silver” filling is in actually a mercury filling. Mercury is not only toxic, but the most vaporous of the heavy metals, and can reach to the brain, the kidneys, the placenta, and breast milk.
The ADA’s callous and irresponsible promotion of mercury-based dentistry — when the alternatives are technically better now and much more tooth friendly — continues to have severe health, workplace, and environmental consequences. Modern dentists never use dental amalgam. If your dentist still places amalgam in any dental patient, it’s time to take your business elsewhere.
Consumers for Dental Choice Brought a Revolution to American Dentistry
When Charlie Brown, executive director for Consumers for Dental Choice, and I started working together, the federal government and the states sat firmly, on dentistry matters, in the pocket of the ADA. Similarly, international agencies were in the pocket of the pro-mercury World Dental Federation. With tenacity, Charlie built a worldwide nonprofit powerhouse, and with strategic brilliance, found the path to dismantle the pro-amalgam machine.
Amalgam is now banned across Europe, and in several African and Asian nations.
Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization have switched from being amalgam advocates to amalgam opponents. Convincing either FDA or WHO to switch from support to opposition of a profitable product is extremely rare; changing both of these impenetrable colossi is, well, unprecedented in my experience.
Millions and millions of American consumers — and billions worldwide — have been spared from the health risk of mercury-based fillings as a result of Charlie’s efforts. Three decades ago, the late mercury-free dental pioneer Hal Huggins asked him to help a billion people.
It now appears he has done so.
But as I explain below, we still do not have mercury-free dentistry for all. We must keep the momentum going to banish use of this primitive, pre-Civil War pollutant from our planet.
So, for the 16th consecutive year I am stepping up to match every dollar donated to Consumers for Dental Choice from now until midnight EST on August 22, 2026, up to $150,000 total. Let’s give Consumers for Dental Choice the resources it needs and merits. You may click this button below to donate online:
donate to consumers for dental choice
Or you can mail a check to:
Consumers for Dental Choice
727 15th St. NW, Suite 701
Washington, DC 20005
Consumers for Dental Choice Stands Up for Powerless Dental Consumers
Testifying before Congress a few years ago, the witness for the esteemed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said American dentistry is “choice for the rich and mercury for the poor.” Consumers for Dental Choice was created with the vision that if consumers have a choice — an informed choice — they’ll reject the mercury filling in favor of the non-toxic one.
But many consumers are powerless to choose, including soldiers and sailors, institutionalized individuals, people stuck in government programs, and people saddled with cut-rate insurance plans that still favor mercury.
These consumers and their children are commonly victims of pro-mercury dentists who falsely tell patients amalgam is “silver,”
They’re the victims of callous government chief dental officers who don’t acknowledge that the FDA now warns against amalgam use in children and other high-risk populations.
They’re victims of dental insurance companies that squeeze every dollar from consumers without regard to safety. Consumers for Dental Choice is determined to change that and end amalgam for ALL individuals.
TAP. While you’re at it, cut out microplastics, fluoride and detergent in your mouth in toothpastes. Use saline to clean your teeth and gums made from sea salt. Mint toothpastes can be maade from tree gum to freshen breath for socialising. Abrasives can be used to whiten.
