<P> Dental amalgam has had a long history and global impact . It was first introduced in the Chinese materia medica of Su Kung in 659 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty . In Europe, Johannes Stockerus, a municipal physician in Ulm, Germany, recommended amalgam as a filling material as early as 1528 . In 1818, Parisian physician Louis Nicolas Regnart added one - tenth by weight of mercury to the fusable metals used as fillings at the time to create a temporarily soft metal alloy at room temperature . Thus, amalgam (an alloy of mercury with another metal or metals, from the French word amalgame) was invented . This was further perfected in 1826, when Auguste Taveau of Paris used a silver paste made from mixing French silver - tin coins with mercury, which offered more plasticity and a quicker setting time . In Europe, prior to 1818, carious teeth were either filled with a melted metal, usually gold or silver (which would often lead to death of the nerve of the tooth from thermal trauma), or the tooth would be extracted . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The neutrality of this section is disputed . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met . (June 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The neutrality of this section is disputed . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met . (June 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Crawcours were a family of five Polish dentists who acquired "superficial knowledge" of dentistry in France before moving to England in the 1780s . They advertised extensively, proclaiming their skill, and claimed to be surgeon - dentists to European royalty . In 1833, two members of the Crawcour family invaded the growing United States of America with a cheap coin silver amalgam they called "royal mineral succedaneum". The Crawcours set up elegant dental "parlours" in New York City and competed with the ethical dentists and catered to the wealthy and influential residents of the city . The patients reclined on comfortable easy chairs and, unlike other dentists, their dentistry was painless since they did not remove any tooth decay, but rather thumbed a soft mixture of their impure amalgam material into cavities . As the Crawcours' business boomed, the conscientious practitioners, who were still working with gold and tin, lost patients . Later, as the brothers' fillings began to fall out, discolor the teeth, and cause tooth fracture because of the cheap amalgam's expansion, the public realized it had been cheated . With that, the brothers returned to Europe in 1834, leaving "a long trail of victimized patients and exasperated dentists". However, the damage had been done: amalgam now had a bad reputation, despite the fact that, if used properly, it would later prove to be a safe and effective restorative material . </P>

When did they stop using mercury for fillings