As dental amalgam becomes more difficult to obtain due to bans in various parts of the world, and it becomes less cost effective than in the past, a replacement material will therefore become essential, with this material ideally having the advantages of dental amalgam, among these being, ease of use, good physical properties and capable of being placed in bulk (as is amalgam). Bulk fill materials such as resin composite bulk fill materials, self-adhesive bulk fill composites and Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) and its recent variants will therefore be discussed and recent clinical data presented. CPD/Clinical Relevance: With the demise of dental amalgam looming, clinicians need to be aware of the potential alternative materials.
Burke et al. (2026) studied this question.