Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 6

Canada (OCDOC) continued to work with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) during the development of a United Nations program to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emission and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. “Understanding the latest evidence has been critical in the issues related to dental amalgam, as has close attention to detail and language. CDA has been fortunate that Dr. Benoit Soucy has managed these issues very successfully nationally, by collaborating with ECCC and the OCDOC, and internationally, working with the WHO and other organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to meet the requirements of the Minamata Convention. He has helped to shape the policy discussion through scientifically sound and credible work.” - Dr. Aaron Burry CDA Deputy CEO – Professional Affairs “The CDA, represented by Dr. Benoit Soucy, has been a key knowledge partner on the Minamata file, as we work to support ECCC in its capacity as Canada’s lead department for the Minamata Convention. We have also received great support in this work from the FDI World Dental Federation and the International Association for Dental Research. The 2018 Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health report, which our office commissioned, has been an important element of this conversation, as presumably will be the related measures that our office has included in the upcoming Canadian Health Measures Survey by Statistics Canada. - Dr. James Taylor Chief Dental Officer of Canada Dr. Benoit Soucy Chief KnowledgeOfficer, CDA In 2016, Canada imported 1.5 million capsules of dental amalgam, which equates to approximately 632 kg of mercury. In 2019, only 1.1 million capsules were imported, or 485 kg of mercury. In 2015, Canada brought the Products Containing Mercury Regulations into practise in the interest of further reducing the risks of mercury to the environment and human health. These regulations recognized the ongoing need for dental amalgam, granting it an exemption, and tracked how much amalgam was imported for use in Canada. Then in 2017, Canada was a signatory of the Minamata Convention, an international treaty that calls for the phase down or phase out of products that include mercury. “This treaty doesn’t specifically target dental amalgam,” says Dr. Soucy. “Most countries do a very good job of controlling the risk presented by dental amalgam. But the treaty asks that we phase down amalgam use, as best as we can.” Dr. Soucy says that one effective way to decrease the use of dental amalgam is to reduce the need for restorative materials altogether, by preventing tooth decay. A 2021 report from the ECCC shows that between 2016 and 2019, there was a 63% decline in products containing mercury in Canada. The majority of these products were dental amalgam, lamps and measurement instruments. In 2016, Canada imported 1.5 million capsules of dental amalgam, which equates to approximately 632kg of mercury. In 2019, only 1.1 million capsules were imported, or 485kg of mercury. “This shows a 25% decline in the number of amalgam capsules, which is impressive,” says Dr. Soucy, “Especially if you take into account that amalgam use had already shrunk so dramatically.” Dr. Soucy notes that from a public health perspective, dental amalgam is still a necessary and effective dental material in some circumstances, such as when the tooth that is restored can’t be kept dry or among patients with high rates of caries or for those with difficulties accessing oral health care. For these reasons, he doesn’t expect that dentistry will phase it out entirely in the near future. “We haven’t found an alternative material that works as well,” he says. “At least, not yet.” Watch a conversation with Dr. Soucy on CDA Oasis: bit.ly/3bfMtiK View the ECCC summary report: bit.ly/3mBLkYp 20 | 2021 | Issue 6 CDA atWork