Talk:Amalgam (dentistry)

Composition of amalgam used in dentistry is innaccurate

The article states: Conventional amalgam alloy commonly consists of silver (~65% ), tin (~29%), copper (~8%) and other trace metals; current amalgam alloy consists of silver (40%), tin (32%), copper (30%) and other metals.[12]

However both of these alloys must be incorrect as the total content of silver tin and copper is over 100 %. In addition there must also be some mercury, which is not even mentioned. EV1TE (talk) 08:38, 8 April 2020 (UTC)

Links to POV site with commercial interest in amalgam removal

I removed a paragraph from the controversy section stating that Norway, Denmark and Sweden have banned silver amalgam. This was an unsourced statement that cited a Long Island dental office in the business of removing these fillings. The domain name was laserfillings dot com. The controversy section is much better put together without it. Bananabananabanana (talk) 09:26, 31 December 2011 (UTC)

Looks like you did not do a basic research on the subject or intentionally misinforming/disinforming. Anyways, here are some examples sources:

"(Feb. 23, 2009) On January 15, 2009, the Swedish government introduced a blanket ban on mercury. Regulations governing the ban enter into force on June 1, 2009. As a result, such practices as the use of dental amalgam in fillings will be prohibited and products containing the non-degradable element may not marketed domestically. [...]"

https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2009-02-23/sweden-ban-on-mercury/

https://ohsonline.com/articles/2009/01/22/22-sweden-bans-remaining-uses-of-mercury.aspx

Please restore what you have removed. 73.9.112.141 (talk) 19:21, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

Use of amalgam in Scandinavia

Hi. Im Danish and last week I had an amalgam filling done here in Denmark. The Reuters article referred to as stating that amalgam filling is illegal/banned in Denmark (and Scandinavia) is wrong and superficial at best. If anyone want to inform on the laws about amalgam filling in Scandinavia, please refer to these specific laws. It should be easy if they exists. RhinoMind (talk) 13:05, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

I have one possible answer to the issue I raised. But please be aware, that it is just an idea of mine and I cannot document it at the moment. My idea:

Amalgam is indeed increasingly viewed as unwanted in Scandinavian dentistry (I am not disputing that), but it might be seen as a good solution in some instances though:

• Composite fillings are not always strong enough to withstand the heavy chewing and pressure encountered in the back of the mouth.
• Larger amalgam fillings might sometimes break and will require either repair or a complete removal and new filling. In these instances repairing with amalgam, might be the best solution. Mainly because it is cheap, easy and not exceedingly time consuming. Removing amalgam fillings might also be more healthcompromising than leaving it.

The socalled "ban" on amalgam in Scandinavia could be confused with an outphasing of applying amalgam to new cavity fillings and in children and teenagers. RhinoMind (talk) 13:05, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

"(Feb. 23, 2009) On January 15, 2009, the Swedish government introduced a blanket ban on mercury. Regulations governing the ban enter into force on June 1, 2009. As a result, such practices as the use of dental amalgam in fillings will be prohibited and products containing the non-degradable element may not marketed domestically. [...]"

https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2009-02-23/sweden-ban-on-mercury/

https://ohsonline.com/articles/2009/01/22/22-sweden-bans-remaining-uses-of-mercury.aspx 73.9.112.141 (talk) 19:23, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

PS. In my case, a large (and old) amalgam filling in my Mandibular first molar broke and it was repaired with amalgam. I was not too happy about refilling with amalgam, because of the health issues, but rethinking the situation I feel ok about it, for these reasons:

• I could not have afforded a complete removal and refilling with composite material at the moment.
• I had amalgam already and refilling a small hole would not be a big difference to my overall situation.
• I am not sure a composite material filling could survive in my molars for long.
• I am not completely convinced, that mercury vapours from amalgam is as large or dangerous as many health-sites claims. I would like to dig into the subject before making my own conclusions at least.
• It solved my problem quickly, giving me time to think about the future. Should I replace it at some point with composite material, etc.?

RhinoMind (talk) 13:05, 11 October 2013 (UTC)

Horribly written unsophisticated article

This is my first venture into a dentistry related article on Wikipedia, and I am surprised how poorly written it is. I mean, take just the opening lines:

An amalgam is an alloy composed of mercury and other metals.[1] Dental amalgam is produced by mixing liquid mercury with an alloy made of silver, tin, and copper solid particles.[1] Small quantities of zinc, mercury and other metals may be present in some alloys.[1] This combination of solid particles is known as amalgam alloy.[1]

which contains multiple contradictions and inconsistencies. An amalgam is an alloy that includes mercury, so it is misleading to state that "mercury ... may be present". Then, it is redundant (and wrong) to define something as an "amalgam alloy", which is redundant (and wrong)! If I knew something about this topic, I would be prompted to completely rewrite it, but at this point I just find it completely untrustworthy - and I especially distrust anything in the sections about controversy over toxicity. Verytas (talk) 10:31, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

The lead section was significantly expanded in a recent edit. The same editor reworked it whilst adding more information in a subsequent edit. Presently, the lead section may be more informative (and possibly better in other ways), but it has become somewhat unwieldy and less exacting in standard of writing, to the point that it no longer seems to provide a meaningful or even accessible overview of (or introduction to) the article.

Perhaps the best solution would be to return the lead section to an earlier version whilst distributing the detail among the article's sections where appropriate. Pololei (talk) 22:42, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

I've made the suggested edit, moving most of the detailed content unaltered to a new "Composition" section. Pololei (talk) 21:48, 23 February 2017 (UTC)

It is a really badly written article - from a lay-person's perspective it doesn't actually explain why or how amalgam is used - maybe a clear paragraph at the top explaining method of application, before launching into history or health concerns? Much of what follows really should be deleted.

Anyway I've added a few sentences to the top section to provide that context. Chris (talk) 14:45, 21 March 2024 (UTC)

the article should show what countries it is used in

it is not used in norway anymore. they have switched entirely to plastic fillings.84.212.111.156 (talk) 00:46, 23 January 2018 (UTC)

Several years ago, a dentist in Switzerland told me that the technique of using amalgam for fillings was no longer even taught in Swiss dental schools. The only procedure concerning amalgam fillings still taught is how to remove them safely and replace them with something else. It is not correct, however, that dentists switched entirely to resin ("plastic") fillings. Metal inlays (mainly gold) are still used because they have better wear characteristics than other materials. Ceramic jacket crowns are also used. Longitude2 (talk) 09:21, 25 March 2020 (UTC)