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Future Direction of Dental Amalgam Use in the US: General Dentists' Perspective
methods: A list of 45,557 general dentist’s emails was obtained from an online database. A pre-tested electronic survey was emailed to all dentists on the list; followed by three reminder emails. The survey contained close-ended questions regarding general dentists’ opinions about amalgam’s future. Data analyses were conducted, including multinomial logistic regressions to investigate participants’ opinions, specifically regarding banning amalgam and mandating amalgam separators.
results: Of 4,380 opened emails, 1,610 (36.8%) responded. Eligible responses (n=1,538) from currently practicing general dentists in the US were analyzed. Eighty-five percent of study respondents were male, with 80% having practiced for more than 20 years. Ninety-two percent work in private practice, and 84% had privately-insured patients. Sixty-two percent of respondents reported using amalgam in their practices. The majority agreed with increasing reimbursement for preventive procedures (85%) and for mercury-free fillings (80%). Sixty-five percent disagreed with banning amalgam, while 53% agreed with having a mandatory requirement for installing amalgam separators. Multinomial logistic regression showed that respondents’ opinion about banning amalgam and mandatory installation of amalgam separators varied by their environmental consciousness about amalgam waste.
conclusion: US dentists have conservative opinions about the future of amalgam, supporting a gradual decrease rather than complete ban. Policies including insurance reimbursement for prevention, and increasing dentists’ awareness about the importance of amalgam separators to mitigate mercury pollution should be implemented.
Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciencesPublic health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Learning Objectives:
Identify US general dentists’ opinion about the future direction of amalgam use, in the context of the Minamata treaty, the United Nations Environment Programme’s international agreement to phase-down amalgam use. This treaty, however, may result in unintended public health burdens, especially for vulnerable populations. Understanding the dentists opinion about the future of using amalgam will assist in developing approaches to strategically minimize its use in the US without affecting the underserved population.
Keyword(s): Public Health Policy, Environmental Health
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator of this research project as part of my thesis research. I have an interest in prevention and survey designs. this is not my first experience with professional surveys.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.