[Dental amalgam corrosion].

Corrosion of amalgam is a natural phenomenon of the behaviour of a metallic substance in the oral environment. Corrosion is a process in which we have a anodic reaction resulting in a loss of electrons and a cathodic reaction resulting in a captation of electrons. One single amalgam restoration in a electrolitic environment as the saliva shows areas acting as anode and others acting as cathode. Certain factors may influence the corrosion: they are the composition of the alloy, the particle size and form, the mercury content, the presence of more or less important quantity of gamma-2 phase, the degree of surface finishing, etc. It is likely that the dispersion phase alloy are more resistant to corrosion than the conventional alloys and that fluoridates amalgams are also more prone to corrosion.