Dissolution of amalgam in saline solution.

This experiment was designed to investigate the in vitro corrosion of several modern dental amalgams in saline solution over a six-month period by measuring changes in the soluble corrosion products. Based on the change of the electrical conductivity of the solution, the dissolution rate seemed to decrease gradually for the first three to four months. Then a rapid increase was observed, indicating a reactivated corrosion process. Larger dissolutions of copper and mercury were observed, especially for the high copper alloys, in these later stages. Zinc and indium, if present, were preferentially released at the earlier stages. Silver and tin could not be detected. Evidence exists that the corrosion of tin results in insoluble deposits of corrosion products.