Oral lichenoid contact lesion to amalgam restoration: a case report

Amalgam has been used for nearly 150 years in dentistry and it is still being used because of advantages such as low cost, ease of handling, physical characteristics like diversity in applications and low frequency of local and systemic biological side effects. On the other hand the disadvantages of dental amalgam comprise poor aesthetics, local degradation, occasional allergic responses to some of its components or degradation products, and the toxicity of mercury. Amalgam and/or its components may cause a type IV hypersensitivity reactions on the oral mucosa. Most patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) have no evidence of any association with dental restorative materials. However, contact or proximity to restorations involving amalgam or other materials causes some lichenoid reactions that is to say, lesions that clinically and histologically resemble lichen planus (LP), but have an identifiable etiology. These reactions are presumably due to allergic or toxic reactions to compounds released or generated. The present case report presents a patient with a unilateral oral lichenoid reactions (OLRs) to an amalgam restoration in the right mandibular molar region.