Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stomatol. May 20, 2015; 4(2): 35-36
Published online May 20, 2015. doi: 10.5321/wjs.v4.i2.35
Controversy of silver amalgam as a restorative material
Vasudev Ballal
Vasudev Ballal, Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India
Author contributions: Ballal V contributed to the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest: No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Vasudev Ballal, BDS, MDS, PhD, Professor, Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal University, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India. drballal@yahoo.com
Telephone: +91-98-80626167
Received: January 5, 2015
Peer-review started: January 7, 2015
First decision: January 20, 2015
Revised: February 2, 2015
Accepted: April 27, 2015
Article in press: April 30, 2015
Published online: May 20, 2015
Processing time: 136 Days and 3.7 Hours
Abstract

Silver amalgam contains mercury leading to concerns about the potential toxic effects of amalgam on the health of dental patients. The debate over the toxicity of silver amalgam restorations has divided the dental profession for over a century. The use of amalgam restorations for anterior teeth have been declining worldwide due to patient’s safety concerns and preference for tooth colored restorations. Nevertheless, amalgam has served the dental profession for decades and benefited hundreds of millions of patients because of its longevity as a dental restorative material. Amalgam is still the World’s most widely used restorative material for posterior teeth.

Keywords: Esthetic resorations; Silver amalgam; Toxicity

Core tip: This editorial highlights the importance of silver amalgam restoration in restorative dentistry.