Cambios macroscópicos de la amalgama dental sometida in vitro a altas temperaturas con fines forenses: el caso de los nódulos de plata

Background: Dental materials, including dental amalgam, undergo macro-structural changes when exposed to high temperatures. Understanding those changes can be useful for dental identification and documentation when conducting medical-legal autopsies of burned, charred, or incinerated bodies to determine type of biomaterial and highest temperature reached. Purpose: Describe the formation of silver nodules on the surface of dental amal-gams exposed to high temperatures, in order to identify patterns and reliable markers for forensic dentistry use. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental in vitro study that described the formation of silver nodules in a sample of 45 dental amalgam discs (brands: Contour® Kerr®, Admix® SDI®, and Nu Alloy® New Stetic®) and 45 occlusal fillings in premolars that were exposed to high temperatures (200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, and 800 °C). Results: Silver nodules were evident on the amalgam surfaces between 200 °C and 400 °C and began to disappear at 600 °C to form spheres and strips upon reaching 800 °C. Conclusions: The for-mation and disappearance of silver nodules is a recurring feature of new-generation amal-gam alloys exposed to extreme temperatures. Therefore, describing them can be used as a marker to identify materials and determine highest temperature reached by human remains.