Dental amalgam has been used for more than a century in the dental industry to fill decaying teeth to strengthen and prevent removal. Dental amalgam is composed of 50% mercury which is a toxic metal that has potential to cause harmful health effects such as tremors, nerve damage, respiratory and kidney failure.

The alternatives to dental amalgam are readily available and safe; they include Composite and glass ionomer and compomer.

Mercury free dentistry campaign has been initiated by CEJAD in order to realize the objective of protecting human health and the environment from anthropogenic sources of mercury, the specific objective is to phase down dental amalgam use in the country and shift to alternatives.