Verdict No compensation for amalgam fillings

OLG Hamm: Amalgam use is generally harmless

(Jur). In general, amalgam fillings in teeth are harmless even if gold fillings are present in the mouth at the same time. This was decided by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm in a ruling announced on Monday, April 4, 2016, thus rejecting the claim of a patient for damages as well as an allowance in the amount of 12,000 euros (Ref .: 26 U 16/15)..

The woman had been treated by a dentist from Lemgo between 1987 and 2009. She received since her childhood several silver-amalgam fillings. But also gold fillings were used.

The treatment with amalgam was wrong, the patient said. She developed an amalgam allergy that the dentist did not recognize. In addition, she had a "battery effect" in her mouth. With the metals gold and silver in the mouth a slight current was created because of the resulting electrolysis. Another dentist had to remove the amalgam fillings and also had to pull two teeth.

However, in its ruling of 4 March 2016, the OLG did not find any faulty treatment by the dentist. The use of amalgam as dental filling material is fundamentally harmless.

This also applies to an electrochemical reaction due to the use of gold and amalgam. For the silver amalgams used would prevent further electrochemical reactions on contact with saliva. Unobjectionable is also the whereabouts of amalgam residues in the construction of new gold crowns. Because the gold crowns would be cemented to create a necessary insulation between amalgam and gold.

A possible amalgam allergy was not found in the applicant according to a dental opinion. Massive health restrictions, the woman had expressed only from the end of 2001, many years after the use of the first amalgam filling. The applicant also effectively consented to the dental treatment. Because of the lack of health risks in the treatment with amalgam, the dentist did not have to explain anything. (FLE)