- Senegal, Thailand and Uruguay have joined forces to reduce the environmental and health impacts of the dental industry
- Mercury is a key component of dental amalgam, posing significant risks to human and environmental health when improperly handled and disposed of
- $13-million initiative will support a holistic approach to accelerate the phase down of dental amalgam use and improve the disposal of mercury-containing waste
Geneva, 28 April 2023 – The governments of Senegal, Thailand and Uruguay have united to reduce the use of dental amalgam, launching a joint $13-million project to fight back against harmful dental waste.
Designed to treat tooth decay, dental amalgam, a combination of mercury and silver-based alloys, is a material used by dentists to fill cavities.
With tooth decay affecting more than 2 billion people worldwide, including 514 million school-aged children, the practice has been a mainstay of restorative dental care for over a century.
However, patients are often unaware that when fillings are removed, the mercury waste generated poses significant risks to human health and the environment. Estimates suggest 30-40 per cent of mercury in amalgam enters solid waste streams, accumulating in water, soil and the atmosphere without breaking down.
Reports identify potential health risks to oral health personnel from mercury exposure, if working conditions are not properly organized.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury outlines 11 measures to scale down dental amalgam, including discouraging use in patients under 15 and in pregnant and breastfeeding women. However, with the dental industry transitioning from restorative to preventive care in many countries, a key challenge is ensuring the environmentally sound management of dental amalgam waste. Technologies used to separate mercury and prevent leakages remain unaffordable for many dental practices, resulting in improper amalgam removal and unintended mercury releases into the environment.
Led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and executed by the World Health Organization(WHO), the Accelerate implementation of dental amalgam provisions and strengthen country capacities in the environmental sound management of associated wastes under the Minamata Convention project will phase down the use of dental amalgam in Senegal, Thailand and Uruguay, improve the management of mercury-containing waste and raise awareness on the health and environmental risks associated with mercury use in the dental industry.
“Mercury pollution is a global issue that affects all of us, not least because so many of us carry mercury with us every day in the form of dental fillings,” GEF CEO Carlos Manuel Rodriguez said.
“Awareness of the risks mercury poses to both our personal health and the environment is a vital first step in ending mercury pollution worldwide.”
Estimates suggest that between 3,000 to 5,000 tonnes of mercury are stored in the mouths of people worldwide in the form of dental amalgam, making the waste amalgam created by the dental industry a global issue.
UNEP Industry and Economy Division Director Sheila Aggarwal-Khan said the use of mercury in dental amalgam is a public health issue in need of urgent attention.
“While the Minamata Convention has highlighted the need to phase down dental amalgam, mercury-contaminated waste continues to pollute ecosystems, drinking water and food,” she said. “UNEP is proud to work with these three countries and a strong set of academic and private sector co-financing partners, while benefiting from a wealth of knowledge from countries that have already phased out its use.”
With the growth of cost-effective, quality mercury-free alternative materials and minimally invasive procedures, WHO Director for Noncommunicable Diseases, Dr. Bente Mikkelsen, said the project comes at the right time.
“Dental caries is the most common noncommunicable disease worldwide, affecting an estimated 2.5 billion people of all ages. This project is a great opportunity to support countries and oral health professionals with the guidance and tools they need to accelerate phasing down the use of dental amalgam to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of mercury pollution.”
The three-year project will bring Senegal, Thailand and Uruguay together to strengthen their policies based on international best practice, improving technical capacity on mercury disposal and waste management methods, convening environmental and health professionals and encouraging an enabling environment for the introduction of mercury-free alternatives through engaging civil society, academia and the private sector.
Countries may accelerate their transition beyond their commitments to the Minamata Convention to phase-out mercury amalgam use completely.
“The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is thrilled to participate in this project,” IADR CEO Christopher Fox said. “Even if we completely eliminate the use of dental amalgam, the profession will be removing dental amalgam restorations for decades to come, which is why environmentally sound management of the associated dental amalgam wastes is so important.”
“FDI World Dental Federation looks forward to sharing the key learnings and best practices from this phase-down project with its global membership, to help them identify what potential strategies could be implemented in their own countries," said FDI Executive Director, Mr Enzo Bondioni. “The project also provides the ideal opportunity to promote the primary prevention of dental caries as being the optimum strategy to phase down the use of dental amalgam.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral fund dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution, and strains on land and ocean health. Its grants, blended financing, and policy support helps developing countries address their biggest environmental priorities and adhere to international environmental conventions. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided more than $22 billion in financing and mobilized another $120 billion for more than 5,000 national and regional projects.
About UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About the World Health Organization (WHO)
Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance to live a healthy life. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.
For more information, contact
Grace Halla, Programme Officer, GEF Chemicals and Waste Portfolio, UNEP
UNEP News and Media Unit, UN Environment Programme
