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Mercury exposure in children: a review.

Mercury Exposure and Public Health

With over 200 million dental restorations performed each year, the importance of developing a restorative material with tooth-like appearance and properties cannot be underestimated. In this article, the use of poly (multimethacrylates) as dental composites is summarized from both fundamental and practical sides. Detail is provided regarding the utilization, procedures, and problems with polymeric composite restoratives, and a complete discussion of the polymerization kinetics and the polymer structural evolution is presented. In the final sections, properties of current composite materials and suggestions for what areas of research would prove most promising are presented.

Polymeric dental composites : properties and reaction behavior of multimethacrylate dental restorations

Metal release from dental biomaterials.

Intra-oral air was analyzed for mercury (Hg) vapor concentration in 46 subjects, 35 of whom had dental amalgam restorations. Measurements were made with a Jerome Hg detector both before and ten min after chewing stimulation. Subjects with dental amalgams had unstimulated Hg vapor concentrations that were nine times greater than basal levels in control subjects with no amalgams. Chewing stimulation in subjects with amalgams increased their Hg concentration six-fold over unstimulated Hg levels, or a 54-fold increase over levels observed in control subjects. Concentrations of Hg measured in intra-oral air larger than those reported in expired air were attributed to the rate and direction of air passage across amalgam surfaces. There were significant correlations between Hg vapor released into intra-oral air after chewing stimulation and the numbers and types of amalgam restorations. It is concluded that intraoral air is a reliable physiological indicator of Hg released from dental amalgam that may reflect a major source of chronic Hg exposure.

Intra-oral air mercury released from dental amalgam

Mercury levels in blood and in mouth air before and after chewing were measured in 47 persons with ana 14 persons without dental amalgam restorations. Questionnaires relating to exogenous sources of mercury exposure were administered to both groups. Differences in the mouth air mercury levels before and after chewing were statistically significant in the group with amalgams, but not in the group without amalgams. Analysis of the data from the questionnaires indicated that little or no exogenous exposure to mercury occurred among the two groups. Blood mercury concentrations were positively correlated with the number and surface area of amalgam restorations and were significantly lower in the group without dental amalgams.

J.E. Abraham

Papers

The Effect of Dental Amalgam Restorations on Blood Mercury Levels