Amalgam (dentistry) and the American Society of Dental Surgeons (ASDS), the only US dental association at the time, forced all of its members to sign a pledge to abstain from using the mercury fillings. This was the beginning of what is known as the first dental amalgam war. The dispute ended in 1856 with the disbanding of the old association. The American Dental Association (ADA) was founded in its place in 1859, which has since then strongly defended dental amalgam from allegations of being too risky from the health standpoint. Amalgam has been used for many years for restorations, commonly known as
Amalgam Digital in hip hop music and distribution. In an April 2008 issue, "The Source" proclaimed that Amalgam Digital has "its finger on the pulse of hip-hop's future." Based in East Boston, the Amalgam Digital label is distributed exclusively by Amalgam Entertainment LLC, a distribution company that offers management, marketing, and promotional services. As an independent label, Amalgam Digital been home to such artists as Max B, Saigon, Curren$y, Chuuwee, Joe Budden, Peedi Crakk, Tash, Kurious, Juggaknots, Tame One, and Lil B. Joe Budden's album released by the label, "Padded Room", reached #42 in the "Billboard" 200 chart and #21 in the