Marilia Mattar de Amoêdo Campos Velo*, Cassiana Koch Scotti, Natália Almeida Bastos, Adilson Yoshio Furuse, José Mondelli
Although adhesive dentistry and aesthetic restorative materials have had significant development, choosing the ideal material to restore dental structures is still controversy. The aim of this chapter is to describe the properties of the dental amalgam and demonstrates how cavity is prepared for amalgam in classes I and II, as well as restoration procedures are carried out. Despite its limited indication for non-aesthetical areas, dental amalgam restorations are quite useful in posterior teeth and its use is very important when treating special patients. In the case of elderly people, the use of amalgam can restore large tooth substance losses with simple procedures and low cost. The same reasons make it the preferred material for patients at high risk to dental caries, like adolescents. Although they are the preferred material for many clinical cases, amalgam restorations are also likely to fail in the daily practice and all procedures and restorations must be done with caution. The future perspectives related to continuing its use in teaching and dentistry were also addressed in the present chapter.