Dental amalgam is widely used as a restorative material even though it is not esthetic and there has been extensive anti-amalgam rhetoric. Although other materials have improved greatly, amalgam has the proven safety record and best cost-to-benefit ratio. Clinical evidence indicates that, in the posterior permanent dentition--where esthetics is not a primary concern--the small, minimally prepar...

The last extensive review of the published literature relevant to amalgam safety was conducted by the Life Science Research Office (LSRO) and published in 2004. The LSRO expert panel report concluded that there was no consistent evidence of adverse health affects attributed to dental amalgam fillings. The panel noted that insufficient evidence was available on the topics of dental amalgam and: ...

Using the information from remake request slips in a dental school's predoctoral clinic, we examined the short-term survival of Class II resin composite restorations versus Class II dental amalgam restorations. In the student clinic, resin composite is used in approximately 58 percent of Class II restorations placed, and dental amalgam is used in the remaining 42 percent. In the period examined...

As very little information was available on mercury sensitivity testing, the first aim was to determine the most suitable agar and concentration of mercuric chloride to use in this project. The primary objective o f the study was to determine whether mercury released from amalgam fillings could increase the prevalence o f mercury-resistant bacteria in the oral flora of children. This was achiev...

An etch resistance phase was found in dental silver amalgam when the amalgam was examined metallographically. This phase was common to the silver alloy ingot as well as to its prepared amalgam. Qualitative electron microprobe technics were used to identify this phase. Quantitative electron microprobe analysis defined it as the R' phase of the copper-tin system or the intermetallic compound Cu6Sn5.

Resistance to cefuroxime, penicillin, tetracycline, and mercury is reported for 839 Streptococcus mutans isolates from 209 human study subjects. The MICs of these drugs did not differ for isolates from one dental amalgam group and two nonamalgam subsets: a group with no known exposure to amalgam and a group whose members had their amalgam fillings removed.

Background. Since it is possible for carbamide peroxide (CP) bleaching agent to contact old amalgam restorations, the present in vitro study evaluated the amount of dissolved mercury released from amalgam restorations with various percent-ages of silver content subsequent to the use of 15% CP. Methods. Thirty ANA 2000 amalgam disks with 43.1% silver content and thirty ANA 70 amalgam disks with ...

The use of DMPS as a diagnostic tool in patients with symptoms allegedly caused by mercury from dental amalgam fillings is disputed. We have previously shown that the mercury concentrations in urine cannot be used in such a way. In the present study, we wished to evaluate the effect on blood mercury levels (B-Hg) following intravenously injected DMPS in four groups of subjects: 19 controls with...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to evaluate the awareness of patients with dental fillings about the toxicity of mercury in dental amalgam. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adult patients having at least one amalgam filling in their mouth were recruited in the Oral Diagnosis Department of OAUTHC, Ile-Ife Dental Hospital. Participants were recruited consecutively as they report in the clinic. Da...