the use of dental amalgam was declared to be malpractice, and the American Society of Dental Surgeons (ASDS), the only US dental association at the time, forced all of its members to sign a pledge to abstain from using the mercury fillings.[9] This was the beginning of what is known as the first dental amalgam war.[10] The dispute ended in 1856 with the disbanding of the old association. The American Dental Association (ADA) was founded in its place in 1859, which has since then strongly defended dental amalgam from allegations of being too risky from the health standpoint.[11] The ratio of the mercury to the remaining metallic mixture in dental amalgam has not always been 50:50. It was as high as 66:33 in 1930. Relative ratios between the other metals used in dental amalgams has also been highly variable. Conventional (or gamma2)-amalgams have 32% silver and 14% tin, and they are most susceptible to corrosion due to their low copper content. Non-gamma2 dental amalgams have been developed that were, however, found to release higher levels of mercury vapor compared with traditional amalgams. Amalgam is the dental material that has the strongest tendency to create galvanic currents and high electric potentials as it ages. The rate of mercury release with the corrosion is accelerated when the amalgam filling is in contact with old restorations or coupled with gold artifacts present in the mouth. Before 1840 there was not a single school of dentistry anywhere in the world and teaching to practitioners of the trade was based on the preceptoral—or apprenticeship—method. There was no standardized curriculum and what was taught was left to the discretion of the preceptor. Nevertheless, there were several ethical, visionary professionals who had received formal medical training as well as dental training, these professionals undertook to right the situation. Among these, following in the footsteps of Pierre Fauchard the "father of modem dentistry", were some of the profession's immortals, including Chapin A. Harris, Horace H. Hayden, Solyman Brown, and Eleazar Parmly. These professionals would also, following the establishment of the ASDS, be instrumental in opening the first dental school in the world, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. The University of Maryland School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University System of Maryland. It was founded as an independent institution, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, in 1840 and was the birthplace of the Doctor of