For the first time ever, a U.S. state has warned against the use of amalgam!
On 25 August 2025, Florida's Department of Health issued guidance warning against amalgam:
“State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo recommends against the use of dental amalgam for routine fillings due to the risk of mercury exposure… Amalgam releases low levels of mercury in the form of a vapor, which can be inhaled and absorbed by the lungs and other organs, and has been found to cause DNA damage in human blood cells and potential impairment with renal function.”
This milestone is in the wake of Consumers for Dental Choice’s Florida campaign, which so far has involved mobilizing four national organizations to petition the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration… meeting with the state surgeon general and his chief dental officer… preparing memoranda highlighting key research… and organizing letters from dentists and other key players.
This new policy is not only valuable in Florida – we can use it as a prototype for federal health agencies because in our constitutional system, the states are the laboratories for democracy.