topic A What is dental amalgam Should you

topic A What is dental amalgam? Should you use it in your dental practice?

Introduction Ø Dental amalgam has been in use for more than 175 years and has been used for hundreds of millions of restorations. Ø This material is used to restore teeth with decay. Ø It is one of the materials used for direct restorations include, silver amalgam, composite resin and gold foil.

History Ø Dental amalgams were first documented in a Tang Dynasty medical text Hsin Hsiu Pen Tsao written by Su Kung in 659.

History Ø In the west countries, it appeared in Germany in 1528. [3][4] Ø In the 1800 s, amalgam became the dental restorative material of choice due to its low cost, ease of application, strength, and durability. [5]

Composition lmercury + metal alloy mixture Øhalf-to-half Øone-to-two l. Main component： Ag、Sn l. Secondary component： Cu、Zn l. The relative ratios between the other metals used in dental amalgam are also highly variable.

Properties • Ag • Advantages • Enhances the strength • Reduces liquidity • Forming a metallic luster • Disadvantages • Mixing difficulty • Engraving is not easy • Not easy to fill

Properties • Sn • Advantages • Easy engraving • Disadvantages • Difficults solidification • Loss strength • Increases liquidity

Properties • Cu • Advantages • More hard • Reduces liquidity • Disadvantages • Increases the chances of corrosion • Causes surface discoloration

How safe is amalgam? • the degree of harm caused by mercury in the body is related to the amount • anxiety, irritability, memory loss, headaches and fatigue. • research have concluded that amount released from amalgam in the mouth is very low. • In 2009, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) evaluated the research and found no reason to limit the use of amalgam.

Should anyone consider alternatives to amalgam fillings? • people have allergic reactions to the mercury in amalgam. • pregnant women • people who have high exposure to mercury

Pros and Cons Advantages Amalgam fillings are considered one of the best filling methods of all time. Here’s why:

Advantages • • • Cheap Resistance Malleable Strong can be placed in one visit self-sealing can be used in a wet environment long track record less technique sensitive.

Pros and Cons Disadvantages At the same time, dental amalgams have a lot of disadvantages to consider.

Disadvantages • • • Color temperature changes allergic reaction environmental pollution Controversy removal of some healthy tooth structures

Comparison • Silver Fillings (Amalgams) • Advantages • Durability • Strength • Expense • Disadvantages • • • Poor aesthetics Destruction of more tooth structure Discoloration Cracks and fractures Allergic reactions

Comparison • Cast Gold Fillings • Advantages • Durability • Strength • Aesthetics • Disadvantages • Expense • Additional office visits • Galvanic shock

Comparison • Tooth-colored Composites • Advantages • Aesthetics • Bonding to tooth structure • Versatility • Disadvantages • • • Lack of durability increased chair time Additional visits Chipping Expense

Conclusion • Affordable • Stable • Safety

Reference • Bjørklund, G (1989). "The history of dental amalgam (in Norwegian)". Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 109 (34– 36): 3582– 3585. PMID 2694433. • Czarnetzki, A. ; Ehrhardt S. (1990). "Re-dating the Chinese amalgam-filling of teeth in Europe". International Journal of Anthropology 5 (4): 325– 332. • Bharti R, Wadhwani KK, Tikku AP, Chandra A (2010). "Dental amalgam: An update". J Conserv Dent 13 (4): 204– 208. doi: 10. 4103/0972 -0707. 73380. PMC 3010024. PMID 21217947.