Whats the procedure for placing an amalgam filling???!

Whats the procedure for placing an amalgam filling???

1 month ago
E.g does he tooth still have to be etched then bonded like a composite filling??

First, if the cavity is big enough, say, reaching the dentin (the sensitive part of the tooth) or the cementum (if near the gumline), you have to be numbed for it. Second, when you are numbed, the cavity on the tooth is cleaned, or shall I say, prepared to make it clean and acceptable for the amalgam to be placed. That is the "drilling" part. Third, when it is ready for the amalgam to be placed, it doesn't need to be "etched" as the amalgam depends on mechanical retention (meaning grooves are created by drilling for the amalgam to adapt better inside the cavity) and not on chemical retention (as the acid etches and forms tags for composite resins to bind better with the tooth). The dentist will just deliver the amalgam into the cavity by means of a plugger and condense it well into the prepared cavity until it has filled the cavity and he/ she takes out the excess by carving it out to conform to the contour of the tooth to make it functional. He / she might want to burnish it too so it will have a smoother and shinier look. Then the dentist might want to adjust the bite by asking you to bite on articulating paper, so it wouldn't be too high when you close and grind down amalgam from the marks created. Then, tooth is ready to go, or shall I say you will be all set.

So, in short, no etching and no bonding needed for amalgams.