article_snippet.sent: Dental amalgam has been used for more than 150 years, and every year 12 million fillings made from Dental amalgam are given to patients in Britain.
article_snippet.sent: Amalgam remains a standard material to use, especially on back teeth because it is particularly robust.
article_snippet.sent: Indeed, a review by the EU Commission's Scientific Committee in 2008 concluded there was no risk from amalgam, says Professor Damien Walmsley, the British Dental Association's scientific adviser.
article_snippet.sent: Amalgam is 'strong, durable and adaptable' and there is 'no evidence to suggest these fillings are anything other than safe to use', adds StJohn Crean, professor of medicine in dentistry and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the University of Central Lancashire.
article_snippet.sent: And yet dental amalgam is banned in countries such as Sweden and Norway, because of patient concern about the risk.
article_snippet.sent: And yet dental amalgam (pictured, posed by model) is banned in countries such as Sweden and Norway, because of patient concern about the risk .
article_snippet.sent: But Dentist Dr Atkins warns that removing amalgams can do more harm than good as more vapour can be inhaled into the system by doing this. '
article_snippet.sent: Aside from the fact there is no evidence to suggest amalgams are anything other than safe, every time a dentist drills a tooth, every time a dentist drills a tooth remove a little dental tissue.
article_snippet.sent: There is so much we don't know about amalgam fillings.