Amalgam (dentistry) and for large foundation restorations, or cores, which are precursors to placing crowns. The reaction between mercury and alloy when mixed together is termed an amalgamation reaction. It will result in the formation of a silver-grey workable mass which can be condensed into cavities. After condensing, the dental amalgam is carved to generate the required anatomical features and then hardens with time. In the pre-1986, the standard composition of alloy is referred to as conventional amalgam alloy. More recently (post-1986), there have been a change in the compositional standard of the alloy due to better understanding of structure-property relationships for
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