Practitioners are advised to use precapsulated dental amalgam to reduce the risk of liquid mercury spill or clinic environmental contamination. Alternative restorative materials (i.e., composite resin, ceramic or other metal alloys) can be used, when indicated. Limiting the amount of dental amalgam triturated for a procedure also reduces the amount of waste generated. Practitioners are legally responsible for the collection, storage and disposal of both gross debris and fine amalgam particles removed via high-volume suction. Chair-side traps have been found to be approximately 68% effective in their removal of amalgam particles from dental wastewater. Dental amalgam scrap as well as amalgam waste gathered by filters and separation devices should be collected periodically and stored in a labelled, leak-proof container (e.g., in a dry mercury-vapour suppressant system).
The proper storage of dental amalgam will also reduce the amount of elemental mercury vapour that enters the work environment. As dental practitioners, we are responsible for ensuring that the waste carriers we use are registered and qualified to handle the wastes we produce.
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