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Mercury Release from Dental Amalgams: An in vitro Study Under Controlled Chewing and Brushing in an Artificial Mouth

Department of Prosthodontics and Biomaterials, UMDNJ-NJ Dental School, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ 07103

T.K. Vaidyanathan

Department of Prosthodontics and Biomaterials, UMDNJ-NJ Dental School, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ 07103

A. Dastane

Department of Prosthodontics and Biomaterials, UMDNJ-NJ Dental School, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ 07103

C. Weisel

Department of Environmental and Community Medicine, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ

M. Houpt

Department of Pediatric Dentistry, UMDNJ-NJ Dental School, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ 07103

Z. Shey

Department of Pediatric Dentistry, UMDNJ-NJ Dental School, 110 Bergen Street, Newark, NJ 07103

The release of mercury vapor from class I amalgam restorations prepared in human molar teeth was studied during chewing simulations in an artificial mouth of a bi-axial servo-hydraulic mechanical test system. So that the total mercury released from the restoration over a fixed time could be determined, a closed chamber surrounded the envelope of chewing motion. In addition, the influence of sampling frequency on mercury release was corrected by the use of different sampling frequencies over a fixed time interval of mercury release measurement and extrapolation to zero sampling time. Thus, a combination of a closed environment and an extrapolation method to determine the mercury release under continuous sampling was used to determine the mercury released under normal breathing conditions. The measured mercury release rate data were used to calculate the potential daily mercury dose in a patient due to a single amalgam restoration, following the method previously outlined by Berglund. The mercury release from both a conventional and a high-copper amalgam was evaluated at different age intervals after the restoration was placed in the teeth. The results show that while the age of the amalgam and the amalgam type influence the extent of mercury release during the initial non-steady-state conditions, the steady-state value of mercury daily dose due to a single amalgam filling is 0.03 ug/day, which is well below the calculated threshold-limiting value (TLV) of 82.29 µg/day considered dangerous for occupational exposure in the United States.

Key Words: dental restoration • dental amalgam • mercury • chewing • toothbrushing

Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 74, No. 5, 1185-1193 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/00220345950740050701


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				J.R. Mackert Jr and A. Berglund Mercury Exposure From Dental Amalgam Fillings: Absorbed Dose and the Potential for Adverse Health Effects Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, January 1, 1997; 8(4): 410 - 436. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]