Amalgam (chemistry) amalgams are known that are of interest mainly in the research context. Dentistry has used alloys of mercury with metals such as silver, copper, indium, tin and zinc. Amalgam is an "excellent and versatile restorative material" and is used in dentistry for a number of reasons. It is inexpensive and relatively easy to use and manipulate during placement; it remains soft for a short time so it can be packed to fill any irregular volume, and then forms a hard compound. Amalgam possesses greater longevity when compared to other direct restorative materials, such as composite. However, this difference has decreased
Dental amalgam controversy condoned the use of dental amalgam. In 1855, Dr. J. Foster Flagg, a professor of dental pathology in Philadelphia, experimented with new mixtures of amalgam. In 1861, he presented his findings to the Pennsylvania Association of Dental Surgeons and, in 1881, he published his book, Plastic and Plastic Fillings (Figure 4). (Amalgam fillings were often called "plastic fillings" at the time.) The inevitable result of this affair was that silver amalgam was proven to be, "an excellent filling material," and expanded dentistry's, "ability to save teeth." Around the same time, John and Charles Tomes in England conducted research on the