A lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the American Dental Assn. and the California Dental Assn. of unlawfully deceiving patients about the presence of mercury in the most widely used type of dental fillings.
The class-action suit, on behalf of several individuals and organizations, seeks to eliminate the use of mercury-containing dental amalgam. It also seeks "restitution" for payments that the ADA allegedly received to endorse amalgam products.
Attorneys in the suit said the dental associations, by referring to the fillings as "silver" rather than a half mercury, half metal amalgam, conceal the toxic nature of the material from patients.
"You don't have to be a toxicologist," said Stephen Rivers, a spokesman for the plaintiffs, including several nonprofit groups. "Everyone knows mercury is bad for you. They are trying to keep the reality, the truth, about what is in fillings from consumers."
But officials at the California Dental Assn., the largest affiliate of the American Dental Assn., said they are not trying to hide anything.
"At CDA we recognize that while amalgam contains mercury, there has been no documented scientific evidence that supports the contention that the mercury contained in amalgam has any detrimental effect on the health of a patient," said Lori Reed, a spokeswoman for the state association.
Reed noted that the ADA on its Web site lists the components of amalgam, including mercury, and states that it "is considered a safe, affordable and durable material."
The lawsuit comes after decades of heated debate between patient advocates and dental groups over the impact that the fillings may have on patients' health.
Fillings contain about three-quarters of a gram of mercury. Attorney Charles G. Brown, who represents a group called Consumers for Dental Choice, said a person with eight fillings has the equivalent of 6 grams of mercury in his body, a concentration that would shut down a school chemistry lab or bring a toxic cleanup crew to a lake.
Though he acknowledges that not everyone will have a negative reaction to the mercury in fillings, Brown argues that the substance can be linked to reproductive and neurological damage.
ADA literature says that in rare instances it may cause allergic reactions but that it does not have any adverse effect on overall health.
"It is toxic before it goes into your mouth, it is hazardous when it is removed from your mouth . . . but the ADA claims in the interim, when it is in your mouth, it is fine," Rivers said.
