Joseph Gwinn wrote:


It might be contaminated if the dentist
didn't get all the amalgam out.

This is almost impossible. However, in the unlikely event, that this
was the case, the work was done by an exceptionally bad dentist.

Getting old silver amalgam fillings out, is quite easy, since the moment
they are touched with a drill, they pretty much crumble and get ripped
out. The pieces fly in all directions (inside the mouth of course),
because of the characteristics of the material once it has been in a
tooth for some time.

It is also very likely, that if in fact there was still some silver
amalgam left under the crown, the patient would have developed new decay
and with it quite a severe toothache. The crown would have failed, have
to be removed, the tooth would have to be cleaned again, and a new crown
would have to be made and placed.

Also, if he did choose to heat it, the cement with which the crown is
affixed to the tooth would decompose long before the gold would melt.

And lastly, even if there were a silver amalgam filling under the crown,
heating it would most likely be harmless. It is unlikely that he is
going to get hurt from "Mercury vapors" from a single silver amalgam
filling.

A mouthful of silver amalgam fillings is a lot more dangerous to a
person's sustained health, than heating one that is no longer in a mouth.

http://zakstar.wordpress.com/2008/01...lgam-fillings/

Before the advent of electroplating, precious metal smiths used the
extremely poisonous technique of "fire gilding" to gold plate silver
objects. This was done with gold amalgams.

--
Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com