Hi, Boldyloxx and other members:
Thanks for your reply:
first of all, please do not consider me an amalgam advocate, I am the kind of a person, who tries to either to go to the source for the info or to compare the statements from the opposing parties.
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I went to a dentist today to do cleaning (scaling) and I asked him a few more things about amalgam fillings.
He said that he can do porcelain or amalgam, whatever his clients order. Majority of people order porcelain, even after he cautions them that the rate of inflammation is about TWENTY TIMES HIGHER with porcelain, as compared to amalgam.
He said that today's amalgam has a 30% mercury content. In the old days it was 70%.
He showed me a container, it is about the size of a segment of a finger, with a screw-on cap. Mercury is in a little plastic pouch, which looks like a small disc, with three holes on edges. When he puts it into a "agitator", the contents are squeezed from the repeated impacts of the silver powder and everything gets mixed up.
He said that in the old days a special dental cement was used for white fillings. According to what he said, the cement had better structural properties, as compared to porcelain. It is no longer manufactured in US or Canada, since it is difficult to work with. Now only the composite porcelain is used for white fillings.

In my first post on this subject I indicated that a liner has to be used for porcelain. Actually, liner has to be used also for amalgam, and in the old days also for cement.
There are two types of liners, on porcelain both have to be used to reduce its contact with dentin. The ingredients for those liners come in two containers, you mix them and it solidifies as epoxy (even though it is not epoxy).
Liner is applied after the cavity is prepared. Then, after several minutes of setting in, a cavity can be filled.

He said that insurance companies DO NOT pay for porcelain on occlusal (chewing) surfaces.
I, of course, did not grill him for proof, I was grateful enough he took time to explain me the details of it.
But I still find it rather strange that insurance companies would not pay for porcelain on occlusal surfaces.

I cannot verify that statement, as I do not have a dental plan at this point. And I doubt an insurance company would allow its support dept to spend time answering queries from the people "from the street".

At the very minimum, you have to arrange a service ticket and only then have your question answered.
(I cannot do even that, since I wrote a book on dental office fraud ( www.badDentist.net ), I doubt they would be too eager to satisfy my curiosity)

But if some of the members of this forum have a dental plan, maybe you can contact your insurance company with this question, I think it woud be of great interest to everybody.

best regards:
Oleg
(again, I am NOT amalgam advocate)