Operative Dentistry II

Amalgam I
Dr. Rasha S. Qeshta
M.D.S Conservative Dentistry
Introduction
Definition
Amalgam: alloy one of its constituents is mercury

Dental Amalgam : alloy of mercury with silver , tin

and copper .
Amalgam Restorations : plastic mix of mercury

with dental amalgam alloy applied to a prepared

cavity to restore the tooth structure and function .
Advantages
1. Superior adaptation to cavity walls.

2. High compressive strength

3. Fairly good form stability
4. Low coefficient of thermal expansion
5. Ease of manipulation,
6. Biologically compatible
7. Maintain high polish surface
8. Ease of manipulation+no special equipememts
9. Relative Low cost
Disadvantages
 These disadvantages include:

1. Low tensile and shear strength brittle

Tension results in a body when it is subjected to two sets of
forces directed away from each other in the same straight line.

Shear is the result of two sets of forces directed towards each

other but not in the same straight line.
2. Creep and flow tendency:

saucering of occlusal surface

3. High thermal conductivity,

4. Objectionable metallic color,

5. Lack of adhesion to tooth structure
6. Galvanic effects

7. Potential health hazards`

Indications and Contraindications:

Amalgam should be considered together with posterior

composite resin and cast gold as a restorative for Class I, II,
the distal surface of canines and Class V in posterior teeth.
Material selection in such cases will depend on:
 The Extent of the lesion.

 Esthetics.

 Caries Incidence.

 Economics.
Classification
 The powder can be classified and described in different

ways:

1. According to the number of alloyed metals.

2. According to the shape of the powdered particles.
3. According to the size of the powdered particles.
4. According to the Zinc content of the powder.
5. According to the form supplied of the powder.
6. According to the Copper content of the powder.

7. According to the addition of Noble Metals. `

 According to the number of alloyed metals: These
include:
 Binary alloys (silver, tin).
 Ternary alloys (silver, tin, copper).
 Quaternary alloys (silver, tin, copper and zinc).
 According to the shape of the powdered particles:
 Lathe-cut alloy: made by machining small, irregularly
shaped chips from a large cast bar of alloy.
Lathe-cut amalgam alloy
 Spherical alloy: whose particles are created by means of
an atomization process and have smooth surface
 Advantages:

1. Require less quantity of mercury as they have smaller

surface area per volume.
2. Develop more early strength due to its faster set.
3. Require less condensation force.
Spherical alloy
However, spherical amalgams have certain disadvantages as:
1. More difficult to obtain good inter-proximal contacts and
contours in Class II restorations.
2. Have shorter working time.
 Blended: formulated by mixing of both lathe cut and
spherical particles in order to increase the packing
efficiency of the alloy and reduce the amount of mercury
required to produce a workable mix.
Blended alloy
 According to the size of the powdered particles:
Although the particle diameter can be used to
classify alloys, it is the least used classification.
However by this method, alloys may be:
1. Very fine particle size alloy.

2. Fine particle size alloy.

3. Medium particle size alloy.

4. Coarse grained particle size alloy.

 Very fine particle size alloy have the advantages of:
 Easily carved.
 Produce excellent surface finish.
disadvantages:
 Require more mercury with
 Much lower early compressive strength.
 Higher rate of marginal breakdown.
 Coarse grained

advantages :
 Require less mercury.
 Produce amalgam with higher early strength.
 disadvantage:

 Difficult to carve because particles are easily dislodged from the

surface during initial set.

Fine and Medium particle size alloy appear to be the best

compromise in this respect.
 According to the Zinc content of the powder:
 Zinc containing amalgam: alloys containing zinc in excess
of 0.01 %.
 Zinc free amalgam: alloys containing zinc less than 0.01
%.
 According to the form supplied of the powder:

The alloy may be supplied in the form of:

1. Powder.

2. Tablets.

3. Capsules

4. . They have the advantages of :

 More accurate.
 Less danger.
 More convenient to use.
Powder and Liquid
Capsules
According to the addition of Noble Metals:

When metals such as palladium, gold or platinum are

alloyed to the powder the resulting amalgams may be
classified as noble metal alloys. Palladium is the most
effective metal added to modern alloys.
 According to the Copper content of the powder:
Due to the extremely influential effect of copper on the
properties of amalgam, this classification is one of the most
commonly used today.
1. Alloys with a copper content of 6% or less are called low
copper or conventional alloys.

2. Alloys with a copper content more than 6% are considered

high copper alloys.
 Setting reaction:

Ag3Sn (γ)+ Hg Ag2Hg3 (γ1) + Sn7Hg (γ2) + un-reacted

Ag3Sn (γ) + Hg +voids

The gamma 2 phase (γ2) is prone to corrosion and should

be considered the weak link in many traditional dental
amalgams.
High Copper Amalgam Alloys:
Two types of high copper alloys are known, the admixed
and the unicompositional. The admixed type alloys are
composed of a mixture of conventional alloys and 30-55 wt.
% of a spherical silver-copper eutectic alloy containing 71.9
wt.% Ag and 28.1 wt.% copper thus increasing the total
copper content of the alloy to 9-20 wt.%.
Cavity preparation
1. 90º CSA.

2. Walls → parallel or perpendicular to occlusal loads. 3. Definite gingival seat

1.5-2 mm.
 4. Rounded internal line angles.

 5. Sufficient bulk at the isthmus area through:

a. Saucering the pulpal floor at the isthmus.

b. Inclining the axial wall towards the isthmus.

 c. Rounding the axio-pulpal line angles.

 6. Each portion → independent retention and resistance.