OVERVIEW

Dental Amalgam Course is organized by Homestead Schools, Inc.

Learning Objectives
After completing the course, you'll be able to:
• Amalgam Fillings: Do Dental Patients Have a Right to Informed Consent?
• Recount the history of amalgam fillings and controversy swirling around their use over the past 150 years.
• Describe the current research being done regarding the safety of amalgam fillings.
• Discuss informed consent as it may apply to amalgam fillings in dental practice.

• Dental Amalgam Use and Benefits
• List 7 circumstances where the use of dental amalgam is indicated.
• List 3 instances where dental amalgam is contraindicated.
• Provide at least 4 reasons as to why it is inappropriate at this time to recommend any restrictions on the use of dental amalgam.

• Consumer Update: Dental Amalgams
• Discuss the investigative efforts of the U.S. Public Health Service to determine the safety of amalgams used in dental restorations.

• Dental Materials Fact Sheet
• Discuss with the patient the risks and benefits of various dental materials taking into account patient's susceptibility to sensitivity and allergic reactions to certain materials.
• Compare 4 direct restorative dental materials (amalgam, composite resin, glass ionomer cement and resin ionomer cement) with respect to various factors for use in dental restorations.

• Dental Amalgam
• Compare 4 indirect restorative dental materials (ceramic porcelain, fused-to-metal porcelain, gold alloys, nickel or cobalt-chrome alloys) with respect to various factors for use in dental restorations.
• Implement in your dental practice 4 specific recommendations made by the ADA regarding the use of amalgam fillings.
• Can a Dentist Ethically Remove Serviceable Amalgam (Silver) Fillings?Make an appropriate response in the event a patient asks the dentist to remove patient's serviceable amalgams.
• List 5 things a dentist should do before removing serviceable amalgam restorations from the non-allergic patient at the patient's request.

• Dental Amalgam–Patient Teaching
• Inform the patient with scientific data of the safety and durability features of amalgam fillings.