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 tattoo common sites, although any mucosal site in the mouth is possible. It is painless, and appears as a blue-black or grey discolored macule on the surface of the mucosa. The borders of the tattoo are variable, and may be well defined, irregular or diffuse. Amalgam tattoo is caused by implantation of amalgam into the tissues. It may occur in several ways: Over time, the amalgam particles embedded in the soft tissues corrode. Macrophages take up the exogenous particles, and the silver in amalgam leads to staining of collagen fibers. A similar appearance can be caused by implantation of graphite (e.g.