Long-term evaluation of surgically placed amalgam fillings

The coauthors of this article had developed the clinical impression that whereas surgically placed amalgam fillings are successful on a short-term basis, the long-term prognosis for these cases may not be nearly as favorable. In order to test this hypothesis, as many patients as could be contacted, either directly or indirectly, who had been treated before 1981 were evaluated. Excluded from this study were cases for which failure could be attributed to any reason other than failure from the amalgam reverse filling. Therefore, all cases included had to demonstrate periapical healing prior to ultimate breakdown. On this basis, 60 of 104 teeth (57.7%) were considered to be successful and 44 teeth (42.3%) were determined to be failures.