Awareness, Knowledge, and Attitudes of Dentists in Türkiye Regarding the 2034 Phase-Out of Dental Amalgam Under the Minamata Convention: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Authors

Ayşenur Altuğ Yıldırım, Sena Ayyıldız

Published in

Oral health & preventive dentistry. Volume 24. Pages 849-858. Sep 09, 2026. Epub Sep 09, 2026.

Abstract

This study evaluated Turkish dentists' knowledge of and attitudes toward the Minamata Convention, the 2025 amalgam phase-down decisions, and current dental amalgam use, and identified factors associated with knowledge and attitude scores across sociodemographic and professional subgroups.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 408 dentists practising in Türkiye between January and April 2026. The 26-item questionnaire assessed sociodemographic and professional characteristics, amalgam use frequency, perceived health and environmental risks, awareness of the Minamata Convention and the 2025 regulatory amendments, factual knowledge, and attitudes toward amalgam phase-down. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Group comparisons were performed using independent-samples t-tests, Welch's ANOVA with Games-Howell post-hoc tests, and Pearson's correlation. Effect sizes were reported as Cohen's d and eta-squared.
Only 40.2% had heard of the Minamata Convention, and 21.1% were aware of the 2025 phase-down decisions. Knowledge and attitude scores were positively correlated (r = 0.242, p 0.001). Knowledge scores were significantly higher among academic staff, university-based practitioners, and those aware of the Convention (all p 0.001). Attitude scores were significantly higher among females (d = 0.61), non-users of amalgam, and those with Minamata awareness. Most participants (73.0%) never used amalgam, yet 79.9% perceived it as an environmental risk.
Despite favorable attitudes toward amalgam reduction, knowledge of the Minamata Convention remains limited among Turkish dentists. Targeted educational programs are needed, particularly for general practitioners in private practice, to support the transition toward mercury-free restorative dentistry.

PMID:
42714322
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Sep 2026.

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