[The historical development of amalgams].

Since the 7th C and certainly in the 16th C, metal mixtures were used to fill teeth in China and in Germany. Alchemistic symbols and recipes for amalgam are found in medieval texts. The development of this type of filling was influenced by the French and the English in the 18th C. By the 19th C, however, America had became the leader. Thanks to the work of many exceptional dentists and researchers at the turn of the century, amalgam was finally accepted as a filling material. The relevant literature should be consulted for special questions not dealt with here.