Dental amalgam controversy total global emissions. Mercury emissions from cremation are growing in the US, both because cremation rates are increasing and because the number of teeth in the deceased are increasing due to better dental care. Since amalgam restorations are very durable and relatively inexpensive, many of the older deceased have amalgam restorations. According to work done in Great Britain, mercury emissions from cremation are expected to increase until at least 2020. The American Dental Association (ADA) has asserted that dental amalgam is safe and has held that, "the removal of amalgam restorations from the non-allergic patient for the alleged purpose of
Dental amalgam controversy expansion and contraction of the various amalgam products. During the American Civil War, the debate on the merits of amalgam continued. In dental meetings, with now decades of use and dental research came the recognition of the importance of good technique and proper mixture on long-term success. It was argued that, "the fault was not in the material but in the manipulation...Some men's amalgam is good universally, and some men's gold is bad universally; the difference lies in the preparation of the tooth and in the plug (filling)." More controversy came in 1872, when an amalgam filling was reported as