Kathleen McGee’s OpEd “Toxin alert: Don’t forget dental fillings” (BDN, March 28) on amalgam dental fillings has serious factual errors and accusations that we, as dentists, cannot ignore. We find her implication outrageous that we, as health care providers, have been “poisoning” our patients by using an approved, safe and viable filling material.

First, Maine dentists make choices about repairing tooth decay based on what is best for the patient with the final choice up to the patient. Amalgam is one of our most important options. In some patients, it is the best option.

Amalgam is often the best choice for a patient (such as a child) who has difficulty sitting still through a dental procedure, or patients who have large cavities in hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. The cost of amalgam fillings is generally significantly less than alternatives. Ms. McGee’s suggestion that dentists are placing amalgam fillings because of a high profit margin is ridiculous. And amalgam fillings, like other filling materials, are considered biocompatible – they are well tolerated by patients with only rare occurrences of allergic response.

Second, elemental mercury in amalgam fillings is different from methyl mercury found in lake water. Writing, as Ms. McGee did, as if they were the same, with the same health concerns, makes for dramatic copy, but is ill-informed.

Amalgam fillings have been extensively studied and found to be safe to use for all populations. A few months ago long-term studies reported in the New England Journal of Medicine again confirmed the safety of amalgam fillings. The studies found no evidence of harm. One study was of particular interest, as it involves children from Maine in a research project conducted by the New England Research Institutes, the Forsyth Institute, Children’s Hospital Boston, and the University of Rochester School of Medicine.

The use of dental amalgam is supported by the major U.S. and international scientific and health bodies, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.

Third, Maine already rigorously regulates mercury whether it is found in mercury products or mercury in dental amalgams. To state otherwise is to ignore a whole chapter of Maine law and years of effective enforcement.

A few years ago, the Maine Dental Association championed legislation to require dentists to capture waste amalgam and ship it to a recycling facility. Maine’s dentists supported the bill, it passed into law and today, dentists are in full compliance with it. This required the purchase of new equipment in most dental offices in the state. This collection process ensures the amalgam scrap does not go into wastewater, lakes or the environment.

The use of amalgam is declining in Maine, as it is throughout the country, but much of the reduction comes from patients’ desires for tooth-colored fillings in their back teeth for cosmetic reasons. We are seeing an increase in the use of composite fillings or other alternative materials. As these new alternatives improve, dentists can use them in more applications. However, there will still be situations where amalgam remains the best and most cost-effective choice for the best outcome for the patient.

The Maine Dental Association does not advocate for the use of one dental material over another. Its guiding principle is that patients and their dentists should have access to the full range of safe and effective options for treating dental decay – and the choice of which option to choose is one best made by the patient in consultation with the dentist.

The truth is that amalgam fillings continue to be widely used because of their safe and proven track record. As one of the options available to dentists, amalgam fillings are one of the most important treatment methods available. Not sensational – but true.

Brad Rand is a dentist in Brewer. William Mouradian is a dentist in

Bangor.