Filling in for mercury

There’s no proof dental amalgam is unsafe, but there are options for the wary, writes JENNIFER HUGET. 

A DEBATE has been running for decades about the safety of amalgam tooth fillings (the silvery-looking ones most people are familiar with). Some public-interest groups and consumers say that since such fillings contain mercury – a known toxin – and amalgam has never been proved safe, these fillings should not be used.