Dental Amalgam: Reactor Response

¹ Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Materials Engineering, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0245

Dental amalgam continues to be an important restorative material; both fundamental and applied research should be encouraged. The criteria for replacement of amalgam restorations should be re-examined to determine if the integrity of the margins should continue to receive the dominant research interest.

In the studies of mechanical properties, first attempts have been made to apply fracture mechanics analysis to dental amalgam. The heterogeneous structure and time-dependent strain of dental amalgam will have to be considered in future studies. More attention should be given to the effects of zinc, which has been shown to improve resistance to marginal fracture.

The corrosion properties have been studied in depth, but there are some important unanswered questions. The pathways of corrosion attack in high-copper amalgams and the kinetics of attack in amalgams of different composition should be examined. Biocompatibility of dental amalgam has recently received renewed interest and will have to be examined in more detail. The clinical significance of the release of metallic elements from restorations is generally unknown.

Dental amalgam faces strong competition from non-metallic restorative materials. Future research should be more strongly focused on the critical issues. The involvement of scientists from related disciplines should be encouraged, and no effort should be made to restrict the talent pool by a centralization of resources.