In their February 10th meeting, the Philadelphia Board of Health, led by Donald F. Schwarz, MD, voted to accept the final draft presented by Board staff for an amalgam information fact sheet. The fact sheet, mandated by the Philadelphia City Council, is to be presented to all restorative dental patients in the city, notifying them that amalgam contains mercury, and advising them of alternatives. The Board of Health and its staff chose to aim their notification at the level of information in the current FDA consumer guide: amalgam contains 50% mercury, which "may" pose health problems for young children and fetuses. They did not include any of the health concerns communicated to them in an extensive brief by IAOMT, and by anti-amalgam activists.

However, the M word was used extensively, and there was none of the old ADA position that claimed that, when mixed with the other ingredients, the mercury would magically become non-toxic. When the FDA changed its on-line consumer guide to similar language in the summer of 2008, worldwide attention was drawn to the problems with dental amalgam. As non-committal as the new Philadelphia fact sheet is, it is likely that consumers will be alarmed.

The draft Philadelphia fact sheet, as accepted by the Board of Health, is attached.