Mercury, a fixture of dentistry for more than 175 years, is finally set for extinction. Countries around the world agreed on Friday to phase out the use of mercury-based dental amalgams by 2034 in a decisive step towards protecting human health from the toxic metal. At a conference in Geneva, signatories to the Minamata Convention on Mercury – aimed at protecting humans and the environment from mercury pollution – called time on mercury amalgams. Nations agreed “to end the use of dental amalgam...