Health and environment policymakers and experts from across WHO South-East Asia today came together to strengthen collaboration to protect people and the environment by accelerating phase-out of mercury-containing dental fillings and advancing safer, more sustainable oral health care.
"Phasing out dental amalgam offers countries a unique opportunity to protect people's health and the environment while accelerating the transition to prevention-oriented, minimally invasive and more sustainable oral health care. By working together across the health and environment sectors, we can expand access to safe, effective and people-centred oral health services while building more resilient and environmentally sustainable health systems," said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, in her address to the two-day Workshop for Strengthening Collaboration on Phasing Out Dental Amalgam in the WHO South-East Asia Region.
The workshop follows a landmark decision adopted at the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2025 to phase out dental amalgam, a mercury-containing material used for dental fillings, by 2034. The decision marks a shift from phasing down to phasing out dental amalgam, with countries now working to translate that commitment into national action.
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