Dental amalgam controversy pages, its research on the subject of amalgam safety concluded that "there is no scientific evidence for risks of adverse systemic effects exist ["sic"] and the current use of dental amalgam does not pose a risk of systemic disease." England and Scotland recognize the safety and effectiveness of amalgam restorations. A policy statement from the British Dental Health Foundation states that they do not consider amalgams containing mercury a significant health risk. Ireland recognizes the safety and effectiveness of amalgam restorations. The Irish Dental Association has published on their website: "Dental amalgam has been used on patients for over 150
Amalgam tattoo from pencil leads), and is sometimes termed a "graphite tattoo", although this is less common than tattooing with amalgam. The diagnosis is clinical. Amalgam tattoo can be distinguished from other causes of localized oral pigmentation because it does not change significantly in size or color, although it may appear to slowly enlarge for several months after the initial implantation of the metal particles. Some amalgam tattoos appear radio-opaque on radiographs (i.e. they show up on x-rays), although in many cases amalgam tattoos have no radiographic features since the responsible particle(s) of amalgam are very small even though clinically the area