The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The Convention was signed by 140 countries on the 19 of January 2013 and ratified in August 2017. More recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) renewed the move to accelerate the phase down of dental amalgam.

The Convention expect parties to take measures to phase down the use of dental amalgam. This includes, but is not limited to, “two or more” of the nine provisions listed, namely:

1) Setting national objectives aiming at dental caries prevention and oral health promotion, thereby minimizing the need for dental restoration;
2) Setting national objectives aiming at minimizing the use of mercury;
3) Promoting the use of cost-effective and clinically-effective mercury-free alternatives for dental restoration;
4) Promoting research and development of quality, mercury-free materials for dental restoration;
5) Encouraging representative professional organizations and dental schools to educate and train dental professionals and students on the use of mercury-free dental restoration alternatives;
6) Discouraging insurance policies and programs that favor dental amalgam use over mercury-free dental restoration;
7) Encouraging insurance policies and programs that favor the use of quality alternatives to dental amalgam for dental restoration;
8) Restricting the use of dental amalgam to its encapsulated form; and
9) Promoting the use of best environmental practices in dental facilities to reduce releases of mercury and mercury compounds to water and land.

This Research Topic will review the state of implementation of the minimum requirements of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in various continents, successes and limitations with the implementation of the Minamata Convention, and proposed ways to fast track the implementation of the Convention.

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Frontiers in Oral Health

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