By definition, the word "amalgam" is a mixture of mercury with other metals. You can see this word in the dictionary.
Apart from being used as a dental restoration material, it was used by gold miners in the California gold fields over a hundred years ago to separate gold from the black sands. The black sands collected at the bottom of their sluices or pans, and they collected that and saved it after picking out the larger pieces of gold. They couldn't see the remaining microscopic gold particles there (or didn't want to bother pulling the remaining tiny pieces out by hand), so they used mercury to amalgamate with it. The gold and mercury combined together, when the mercury was placed in the black sand (black sand is typically other heavy minerals and metals such as iron in combination with other elements). One way for them to separate it, the early miners used to take this amalgam (now being gold and mercury) and put it inside a potato over a fire. The mercury vapors would burn off slowly, and inside the potato would be left a shiny gold button. Of course, later it was learned that this was an extremely dangerous use of mercury, and is something that none of us should ever do. But at the time, they evidently thought it was safe. This is one of the ways that mercury vapors can enter our bodies and make us extremely sick. Mercury is one of the most dangerous heavy metals next to plutonium for human beings. It should be handled very carefully.
As far as dental amalgams go, I answered that previously for you. I thought that you might enjoy a different explanation of amalgams, so that it can help you understand more about it. Maybe someone else can help you too. A lot of that information is available on the internet, by typing in the appropriate search words.
If you have any more questions about it, please let me know.
I've read that dental amalgams have not been scientifically proven to be safe, contrary to what Dr. Phier has stated above. There are apparently over a hundred scientific studies that show a link between dental amalgams and illness.
I, for one, do not either believe they are safe. I was extremely sick until I had my eight (8) dental amalgams removed about 8 years ago.
For those interested in the subject, I suggest that you do some research. After you have read all the pros and cons about this subject in a few weeks, come back, and let us know what you find.
I encourage all responses, including those with different viewpoints than my own. We could learn a lot about this. Thanks.
For starters, you can visit this site:
[url="http://www.selene.com/healthlink/amalgam.html"]http://www.selene.com/healthlink/amalgam.html[/url]
One other thing that I recently read, is that American (ADA) dentists cannot return to you one of your dental amalgams that were removed from one of your teeth (if you asked for it), because it's considered toxic waste. Is that true? But for some reason, others who consider this a toxic waste, also consider this poisonous substance, safe in our mouth. So then it's toxic outside of our mouth, but it is safe in our mouth? How can that be explained?
Originally posted by rhody: One other thing that I recently read, is that American (ADA) dentists cannot return to you one of your dental amalgams that were removed from one of your teeth (if you asked for it), because it's considered toxic waste. Is that true? But for some reason, others who consider this a toxic waste, also consider this poisonous substance, safe in our mouth. So then it's toxic outside of our mouth, but it is safe in our mouth? How can that be explained?
rhody, I don't know where you are getting this stuff or how you are interpreting the information you are reading....
Just how do you expect to get your amalgam filling back??? When a silver filling is removed it is drilled out, this means that the filling will be in itty bitty tiny particals. During the drilling process water is used to cool the drill, so water collects in the persons mouth, therefore suction is used to remove the water, also removing the amalgam particles and tooth particles. As far as the whole tooth being removed from the mouth...wether or not it contains any kind of filling, no we are not suppose to give you your tooth back, it is a biohazard. If you had a mole removed you wouldn't be able to get it back and keep it either. So I guess for the common person, someone without medical knowledge, yes it may be described as a toxic substance, simply because your own tooth being a biologic substance may mean nothing to you. But then again you wipe your own butt. Whereas somebody else would wear gloves to wipe your butt. This too is also a biologic substance AND a toxic substance. Do you think people's body parts and bodily waste should just be floating around to contaminate other people?
BTW the definition of amalgam: A combination of diverse elements; a mixture. See Synonyms at mixture.
There are an amalgam of opinions and studies on silver fillings! But you have to understand the control process on determining these side effects. How do they know that some of these "side effects" wouldn't already exist if the person didn't have the silver fillings? Do you know the genetic traits and when they will appear in people? This cannot be controlled in any kind of study, unless they used cloning and already knew what the health problems of the future would be and when they would occur. Then they could see how mercury in silver fillings would change the person. But these kind of studies aren't going on (that we know of). And finally I'd like to add that the mercury in these silver fillings is released into your body at the greatest amount when the silver filling is removed, through ingestion and mercury vapor. So your unnecessary removal of your silver fillings should have worsened your symptoms after they were removed, and continued until the level of absorbed mercury in your system went back down. But you only say how much you got better. Sounds psychological to me!
If you had your tooth pulled with a dental amalgam in it, would the American (ADA) dentist be able to allow you to take it home as a souvenir? Yes or no. I was just trying to get some confirmation on this, which I read about recently.
Your definition of an amalgam was only the secondary definition. Why did you not say anything about the primary definition, which mentions mercury? Here's the word in an on-line dictionary so everyone can clearly understand what the word "amalgam" means.
[url="http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=amalgam&db=*"]http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=amalgam&db=*[/url]
Also, I noticed that you repeatedly wrote "silver filling" instead of dental amalgam. Are you not allowed to mention to people that mercury is inside of this dental restoration material? Are you not free to say or write dental amalgam? When I write about this subject, I often try to call it a mercury-silver dental amalgam. The reason being, is approximately 80 percent of the metal composition of this substance is of those two metals. It varies slightly as a lot of us know, depending on the source and type. Also the readers should know that the metal in a typical dental amalgam of the highest concentration is mercury, not silver.
You see, by not mentioning to people that mercury is in there, or stating it as an amalgam, and just calling it a silver filling, it is so confusing. That's what I believe started this discussion. In fact, there was a lawsuit initiated this year, over that very issue. Does anyone know the status of that? I'll have to check into it myself.
What is amalgam? 
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