Dental Amalgam and its use in Dentistry
Amalgam is a material that has been used in dentistry for a long time, it has had the purpose of restoring teeth with cavitations, much of the population still retains amalgam -based restorations, since among its characteristics they highlight the good clinical performanceWhat are you have. This material is a source of great controversy since many do not consider it as a biomaterial since most of its composition is mercury, an element that is toxic and causes health damage.
The amalgam during history has had several modifications in its composition, since since years ago there was a doubt of the toxicity level that this material had in the mouth, so several scientists tried to replace mercury with another element, while others preferredContinue to obtain the cavities with gold, since in those times it was the only material that provided trust. The amalgam is universally approved thanks to Black who in its experiments makes an alloy between silver and tin.
Amalgam composition
The composition of the amalgam is formed by two states a liquid that would be mercury and another solid that is presented in the form of dust, the silver is usually used since its characteristics dissolves in an easy way. It is alloy between mercury and silver is poor so it was incorporated tin into the composition to improve the mechanical properties of the material, other metals can also be used with less quantity such as zinc and copper.
Amalgam properties
The performance of this material depends on the properties it has, it is considered the elements that compose it, the manipulation process and its structure. At the time of manipulating amalgamA caries recurrence. With the condenser, the morphology of the dental piece must be reproduced, since as the form is known, it also affects the function.
Within the important characteristics of the amalgam, its rigidity and hardness stands out, to ensure that these properties are in an acceptable range, a certain amount of time (approximately 3 hours) must be expected after having placed it in the preparation, so it is recommended thatIn this period there is not much contact with his antagonist, even the patient should not eat in a period of 2 to 3 hours, something that does not happen with the resin.
Use of amalgam
Amalgam is a dental material which was created with the purpose of getting or sealing cavities in teeth that have suffered traumits use is recommended, since this material does not provide a good aesthetic.
There are clinical studies that affirm that amalgam has great success in the clinical part, since longevity tests state that this material can last in the mouth about 10 years, have a low cost so they are accessible to most of the majority of thepopulation. The success of any restoration with any material will always be linked to the fulfillment of the basic principles to avoid the failure of these. (4)
Undoubted that amalgam is not a very aesthetic material, there are patients who demand a restoration that is pleasant for the view, so many dentists have preferred to replace the amalgam with a resin, although subsequent pieces must be restored which are restored which must be restoredThey are subject to great forces produced by chewing, wear of the cusps will occur, eventually causing a vertical decrease, that is, certain changes that can be minimal in the patient’s facial dimension.
Amalgam toxicity?
The questioning about whether or not the amalgam should be used, has developed several years ago. Therefore, it is common to listen to the “amalgams war”, as mentioned above there are certain disadvantages, but the main problem is the toxicity of mercury, characterizing it as a potential material to cause risks in the health of the people whoThey possess them. That is why in the dentistry schools and in the practice of the population it has been chosen to stop using them and there is not enough information to know whether or not they should be considered for an operative.
Mercury is an element considered dangerous, since it has a certain degree of toxicity, despite this, it is still used in certain health areas and in the industrial part, since in several studies it has been explained that mercury is an element that isThey find everywhere, that is, it is in our environment, so anyone can be exposed to it, this metal or its derivatives can be absorbed through the lungs, this metal can be distributed at the brain level causing damage to the systemcentral nervous, there could be some kind of alteration in the senses.
As already mentioned above, mercury is in our environment, mainly comes from 3 sources: the food diet especially from fish, vaccines and amalgams that are used in dentistry, certain studies affirm that when amalgam is placed in the mouth, it cana certain amount of mercury in the form of gas during chewing. The amount of amalgam that can be distributed to the brain is proportional to the amount of amalgam restorations, relating this fact to the appearance of certain diseases, this hypothesis still lacks studies that grant reliability.
There are institutions that have declared amalgam as a biocompatible material, characterizing it as effective and safe in the dental field. While amalgam is true, it is a source of exposure to mercury, and a certain amount of this element could be eliminated in the urine are very small amounts, so no toxic effects have been evidenced. The complication that is rare that occurs is hypersensitivity to this material.
Patients currently request that amalgams be removed since they wish to opt for a more aesthetic treatment, or clinical failures can be presented either becauseSurface can present a rough texture surface, when a restoration is rough this characteristic promotes the adhesion of bacteria causing a carious process in the long run.
Amalgam waste can be recycled, so it would not have a high pollution index in the environment. It is recommended that amalgams are not withdrawn only by aesthetic purposes, since the restoration is still in optimal conditions should not be removed, since at the time of doing so, mercury vapors are generated that would affect the patient and having a greater incidence in theHealth of the dentist since he will be in contact with this gas for a large amount of time for the exercise of his profession.
Dental decay is a greater overcrowding disease around the world, which in most people is not treated in time, especially in countries with low resource, since in a matter of costs a dental operation carried out with compound resin ismore expensive than a restoration based on amalgam. So the costs in the public health sector increase since certain alternative materials do not have optimal properties to survive in the oral environment.
The use of amalgam in dentistry is considered safe its application in children of 6 years and adults, studies have shown that the amount of mercury that the amalgam details does not reach sufficient levels to cause some adverse reaction. What has been seen that if it can be presented is some type of related allergic reaction. Comparisons made with other alternative materials, show that amalgam has a higher clinical performance.
Conclusions
- There is controversy in itself the amalgam can be considered as a biomaterial, since many defend that by the presence of mercury it is considered a toxic material, and other authors that consider it as a safe biomaterial andEffective to restore dental pieces.
- To remove amalgam.
- · There are no reliable clinical trials that demonstrate that amalgam causes harmful effects or causes the appearance of certain diseases related to the nervous system such as seizures, or even Alzheimer’s whose etiology seems to have a greater relationship with the genetic part.
References
- Téllez L, Milanés and, Martínez N. Use of tooth amalgam in the Cuban population use of dental amalgam in the cuban population. Granma Medical Rev. 2018; 22 (5): 965–81.
- Gómez J. Perspectives of the use of dental amalgam under the Minamata Agreement: national and international trends. Rev cementol. 2020; 33 (1): 53–65.
- Fonseca G, Cantín M, Pícola V. Proposal to determine the forensic significance of skeletal remains by chemical analysis of the proposal dental amalgam for determining the forensic meaning of skeletal remains through the chemical analysis of dental amalgam. Rev Medical Scientist Holguín. 2016; 20 (2): 322–44.
- Estrada moradas m. Is the preventive removal of the restorations of ancient amalgama in the mouth necessary? Fundamentals in its composition and manipulation (i). Av Odontoestomatol. 2018; 34 (1): 25–35.
- Guadalupe LN, Lourdes A, Bayardo R. Mercury released by dental amalgam is real damage to health? Rev took. 2015; 4 (11): 402–6.
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