why are mercury containing amalgam tooth fillings considered safe despite mercury being extremely toxic?
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[Methylmercury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylmercury) (organic mercury) is a common compound of mercury that is both extremely toxic and transfers through food; it usually takes special kinds of underwater bacteria to turn mercury into it. It is also very much *not* metallic mercury. It’s close cousin, dimethylmercury, is the one that is scary (can kill somebody that touches it with gloves on).
Metallic mercury is still toxic and can technically be picked up from fillings, but almost all of it is bound up by the other amalgam ingredients; getting any into your system would require getting the other metals in as well, and even then they would tend to stick together instead of interacting with your body. So the benefits of mercury and the risks of rust or other metals outweigh the risks of mercury amalgams. However, the potential risks are enough some countries ban its use.
Concerning science, current studies don’t have sufficient rigor to draw a certain conclusion. This means that even if it’s a good idea to phase out its use, amalgam won’t shorten anybody’s life enough to be noticeable. Wikipedia has a [page on the subject](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy).
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