Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Dental Research
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ferracane, J.L.
Right arrow Articles by Okabe, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ferracane, J.L.
Right arrow Articles by Okabe, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Mercury Vaporization from Amalgams with Varied Alloy Compositions

J.L. Ferracane

Department of Biomaterials and Biomechanics, Oregon Health Sciences University, 611 SW Campus Drive, Portland, Oregon 97201

J.D. Adey

Department of Biomaterials and Biomechanics, Oregon Health Sciences University, 611 SW Campus Drive, Portland, Oregon 97201

H. Nakajima

Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas

T. Okabe

Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas

The fact that mercury is released from dental amalgam restorations after abrasion provides a source of continued controversy over the safe use of this material. Studies have shown that the amount and rate of mercury release vary for different amalgam products. The objective of this study was to determine how alloy composition affects mercury vaporization from experimental amalgams with similar alloy particle size and shape and percent residual mercury. An hypothesis to be tested was that mercury release is dependent upon the concentration of tin in the silver-mercury matrix phase of the amalgam. Seven spherical amalgam alloys (two low-copper and five high-copper) were made by a dental manufacturer (Tokuriki Honten, Japan). Trituration conditions were adjusted so that all set amalgams had the same residual Hg (47.3%). ADAtype amalgam cylinders were aged for 14 days at 37°C, then lightly wet-abraded on #600 silicon carbide, dried, and placed into a tube through which air was blown at a rate of 750 mL/min. Mercury vaporization was monitored with a gold film analyzer (Jerome 411) for 30 min. Total Hg release was determined by integration. We analyzed polished specimens via electron microprobe to determine composition, volume fraction of silver-mercury matrix ({gamma} 1), and amount of tin in the {gamma}1. The results showed a strong negative correlation (r2 = 0.941) between the log of total mercury released and the amount of tin in the {gamma}1. The effect of alloy composition, specifically the presence or absence of zinc in the amalgam, could not be definitively determined. It is concluded that the tin content in the {gamma}1 matrix is the primary determinant of Hg vaporization from amalgam.

Key Words: dental amalgam • mercury • abrasion • biocompatible materials

Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 74, No. 7, 1414-1417 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/00220345950740071401
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 CROBMHome page
M.C. Roberts
Antibiotic Resistance in Oral/Respiratory Bacteria
Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, January 1, 1998; 9(4): 522 - 540.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]