Silver-colored filling material used by dentists to fill a tooth that has been treated for the removal of tooth decay. Dental amalgam is a mixture of mercury and an alloy of silver, tin, and copper. It is considered to be one of the safest, most durable, and least expensive materials used to fill a dental cavity. Amalgam fillings cannot cause a person to have metal poisoning. The dentist mixes the amalgam, places it in the filling, and allows it to set, usually in a few minutes. It takes about 24 hours for the filling to harden completely, so some dentists advise avoiding chewing on the affected side.
A dental restorative material made by mixing approx, equal parts of elemental liquid mercury (43% to 54%) and an alloy powder (57% to 46%) composed of silver, tin, copper, and sometimes smaller amounts of zinc, palladium, or indium. It has been used for more than 150 years in dental restorations; only gold has been used longer for this purpose. It is known that a fraction of the mercury in amalgam is absorbed by the body and that people with amalgam restorations in their teeth have higher concentrations of mercury in various tissues (including the blood, urine, kidneys, and brain) than those without amalgam fillings. In 1993 the Public Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a report acknowledging that scientific data are insufficient to conclude that amalgam fillings have compromised health. Furthermore, there is no evidence that removal of amalgam fillings has a beneficial effect on health.
Amalgam, a dental material composed of a mercury alloy blended with other metals, is commonly employed as tooth fillings. It possesses a malleable nature, making it easily manageable for dentists during the procedure, yet it rapidly solidifies into a durable and robust substance.
A blend of metals employed for dental fillings. This mixture may consist of silver, tin, copper, and mercury, or various combinations of these metallic elements.