by KYW's John Ostapkovich

Here's something to chew on: the battle over silver amalgam dental fillings, and how to talk about them. 

About dozen activists, some claiming to have suffered severe illnesses from mercury in the filling mixture, want tough wording in an informed consent brochure dentists in Philadelphia will soon be required to have their patients sign.
   
Freya Koss (second from right in photo) is director of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Mercury-Free Dentistry:

"Up until now, patients have been told that silver fillings are silver fillings. They're not silver fillings. They are 50 percent mercury, the second most toxic non-radioactive element on the face of this earth."

But Sean Connelly of the Pennsylvania Dental Association says this formula has been used for 100 years:

"Dental amalgam is a mix of several alloys and it has been shown to be very safe, durable, and effective."

This wording is certainly less alarming, and now the city health department has to determine the brochure's approach.
  
(Photo by KYW's John Ostapkovich)