title: Local adverse effects of amalgam restorations.
abstract: Amalgam has been used for the restoration of teeth for well over 100 years, and is the most successful of the direct restorative materials with respect to longevity. Despite the increasing use of tooth-coloured materials, with advantages of aesthetics and adhesion, amalgam is one of the most widely used dental restorative materials. One of the principal disadvantages of amalgam, apart from aesthetics, is that it may have adverse biological effects, both locally and systemically. Locally, it can cause an erythematous lesion on the adjacent oral soft tissues (tongue and buccal mucosa), and systemically free mercury in the amalgam may give rise to a hypersensitivity reaction. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature concerning the local adverse reactions to dental amalgam. The focus will be on the reactions of the oral mucosa, and brief consideration will be given to laboratory cytotoxicity of dental amalgam and its components, and to the 'amalgam tattoo'.
authors: School of Dental Science, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors: M J
authors: MJ
authors: McCullough
authors: M J
authors: MJ
authors: Tyas
mesh_terms: D002054:Burning Mouth Syndrome / Q000139:chemically induced; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects; D003723:Dental Amalgam / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000139:chemically induced; D006099:Granuloma / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D017676:Lichen Planus, Oral / Q000139:chemically induced*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced
chemical_list: D003723:Dental Amalgam