***PLEASE DON’T DEPEND ON THIS

SLIDE FOR EXAMINATION PURPOSES.

-DR HAIKAL

Dental Amalgam

Capt (R) Dr. Mohd Haikal

BDS(Malaya)Mclindent(Malaya)
DENTAL MATERIAL
BLOCK 2
 Aim
• To increase the knowledge of dental amalgam
• To be able to apply the knowledge of dental
amalgam in clinical situation.

Outcome
• Will gain insight into composition, indications,
advantages and disadvantages of dental
amalgam
• Will gain an insight of its safe use and disposal
 Introduction
• Dental amalgam is the most widely used
restorative material. It has been in use
for over 150 years.
• Dental amalgam is a mixture of a silver
alloy with mercury. The silver alloy is a
fine powder that is composed mostly of
silver, tin and copper, and sometimes
zinc, palladium or indium.
• When the silver alloy and mercury are
mixed, a chemical reaction occurs that forms
dental amalgam.
• This reaction between alloy and mercury is
termed as amalgamation reaction.
• Although some forms of mercury are
hazardous, the mercury in amalgam is
chemically bound to the other metals to
make it stable and therefore safe for use in
dental applications
 What is Amalgam?

• a·mal·gam: any alloy of mercury with any

another metal [silver amalgam is used as a
dental filling]
• word amalgam is derived from greek name
‘emolient’ which means paste.
• There is still no adequate economic
alternative for dental amalgam. The
combination of reliable long-term
performance in load bearing situations
and low cost is unmatched by other
dental restorative material. It has a
myriad of uses: rather low technique
sensitivity, self-sealing property and its
longevity
• Over the last few years
IMPROVEMENTS in composition
have led to :
1. Reduced marginal failure due to
decreased creep and corrosion
2. Early seal between the tooth and
restoration
 The variables for amalgam’s appearance

1. Cavity design & preparation

2. Selection of alloy & its manipulation
with mercury
3. Contouring & finishing procedures
4. Age of the restoration & its environment
 classification
Binary
alloy (Ag-
Sn)

Number
of
alloyed
Quarternar
metal Tertiary
y alloy
alloy
(Ag-Sn-Cu-
(Ag-Sn-Cu)
Zn)
Lathecut spherical

Admixed
 High copper
Low copper
amalgam(>6-
amalgam(<0-6%)
13%)
Zinc containing Non zinc
alloy containing alloy
(>0.01-2%) (<0-0.01%)
Composition of amalgam

Silver Tin

Basic

Copper Mercury
 Indications

Moderate to Class V
large Class I and restorations in
Class II unaesthetic areas
restorations

Core
 Contraindications

Small (even
moderate)
Esthetics
defects in
posterior teeth
Requirement
for
reinforcement
of tooth
 ADVANTAGES
• Cost-effective
• Less techniques sensitivie
• High durability
• Fewer allergic or hypersensitivity reactions
• Prevent marginal leakage after a period of
time
• Adequate resistance to fracture
• Strong evidense base
 DISADVANTAGES
• Does not bound to tooth structure
• Low tensile strength( weak in thin sections <
2mm
• Corrosion & galvanic reaction
• Esthetics
• Toxicity
• Do not help retain weakened tooth structure
• Difficult tooth preparation
 AMALGAMATION
 During trituration Ag & Sn in the outer portion
of the particles dissolve into Hg.
Hg diffuses into alloy particles.
Hg has limited solubility for Ag (.035wt%) & Sn
(.6wt%).
 Amalgamation occurs when Hg contacts the
surface of Ag-Sn alloy particles.
 When the solubility in hg exceeded- crystals of 2
binary metallic compound precipitate into hg.
These are bcc ag2hg3 & hexagonal sn7-8hg.
 Phases in amalgam alloy
ϒ : Silver-tin compound ( Ag₃Sn)
ϒ₁ : Silver-mercury (Ag₂Hg₃)
ϒ₂ : Tin-mercury (Sn₇₋₈Hg)
η’ (Cu₆Sn₅): eta prime
 Low-copper amalgam
ϒ(Ag₃Sn) + Hg →ϒ₁(Ag₂Hg₃) + ϒ₂
(Sn₇₋₈Hg) + unreacted ϒ (Ag₃Sn)
(dominating phase is ϒ₁ about 54 %- 56%
by volume)

Subject to corrosion due to presence of

ϒ₂ and cause rapid breakdown of amalgam
 High-copper amalgam
Initial reaction:

ϒ(Ag₃Sn) + Ag-Cu (eutactic) + Hg → ϒ₁

(Ag₂Hg₃) +ϒ₂ (Sn₇₋₈Hg) + unreacted ϒ
(Ag₃Sn) + unreacted Ag- Cu (eutactic)
Secondary reaction:

ϒ₂ (Sn₇₋₈Hg) + Ag-Cu (eutactic) → η’

(Cu₆Sn₅)

+ ϒ₁ (Ag₂Hg₃) + unreacted Ag- Cu

(eutactic)
 Properties
Dimensional change
Compressive strength
Creep
Corrosion
 Dimensional change
• Negative
• Slight but significant
• Clinical significance: occurrence of post
operative sensitivity with newly placed
amalgam
• Result in interfacial gap between
amalgam and tooth structure → fills by
intratubular fluid → changes in pressure
→ sensitivity
Product Dimensional change
(μm/cm)
Low copper alloys

-Lathe cut -19.7

-10.6
-Spherical

High copper alloys

-admixed -1.9
-8.8
-unicompositional
 Compressive strength
• Most favorable strength characteristics
of amalgam
• Weakest in tension and shear strength
• Cavity design should maximize
compressive strength and minimize
tension and shear
Type of amalgam 1hr compressive 7-day compressive
strength (Mpa) strength (Mpa)
(0.5mm/min) (0.5mm/min)

Low copper alloys

-Lathe cut 45 227

-Spherical 141 289

High copper alloys

-admixed 118 340

-unicompositional 252 452

 Creep
• Permanent deformation under
static load
• Under continued application of a
compressive force, amalgam undergo
deformation even after the mass
completely set
Type of amalgam Creep (%)
Low copper alloys

-Lathe cut 6.3

-Spherical 1.5

High copper alloys

-admixed 0.45
0.05
-unicompositional
 Phases in Formula
Amalgam Alloys
and Set Dental
Amalgams
g Ag3Sn
g1 Ag2Hg3
g2 Sn7-8Hg
b Ag4Sn (silver-rich)

e Cu3Sn
h Cu6Sn5
Silver-copper Ag-Cu
eutectic