Amalgam is a name of a very common type of dental filling that has been in use for over a hundred and fifty years. An amalgam is basically a mixture that combines mercury with at least one other type of metal. The amalgams in use today have a constituency of about forty percent of mercury and about sixty percent of powder that contains metals like silver, zinc, tin and copper. Amalgams are so commonly used due to their advantage over other materials used in dentistry. These advantages include a low cost level, durability, strength and the fact that it stays free of bacteria to a large extent. However the main downside to this form of treatment is that it has very poor aesthetic appeal- especially on the exterior teeth and also the very dangerous fact that mercury can cause poisoning. This resulted in concern about the safety and potential hazards the use of an amalgam posed and hence in the past couple of years there has been a drop in the tendency for people to choose the amalgam mode of treatment.
It has been shown that exposure to levels of mercury that have leaked from an amalgam have the tendency to cause migraines, erethism and even multiple sclerosis. This led to some countries in Europe banning the use of amalgams in recent years. However the claims were speculations and never backed up with proper evidence and the reality is that amalgams pose no significant risk or side effects even after prolonged use. However if you have any of the below mentioned reasons then it is advisable not to consider the use of an amalgam filling. The first one is if you have had an allergy to mercury or any other metal in the past. Also if the amount of restoration needed for your teeth is large then the relative costs may be high for effective restoration.
answered by G M