A examination utilized to gauge mercury publicity from dental fillings significantly overestimates the quantity of the toxic metal they may launch, creating unnecessary concerns about health risks, fresh investigation indicates.
The results, by University of Michigan scientists, cast new concerns on the notion that mercury exposure from dental amalgam fillings poses a substantial risk - an problem that the researchers acknowledged is highly debatable.
In a fresh statement in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the UM researchers stated there is no issue that dental amalgam fillings slowly launch mercury vapor into the mouth. However the amount of mercury launched is typically little and is not likely to pose a major health danger.
They mentioned general public health research often assume that mercury in urine can be utilized to estimation exposure to mercury vapor from amalgam fillings and that mercury in hair signifies publicity to mercury from diet. However the UM research, which measured mercury isotopes in the hair and urine from 13 Michigan dentists, discovered that their urine contained a mix of mercury from 2 sources: the consumption of fish that contains organic mercury and also inorganic mercury vapor from the dentists' own amalgam fillings.
"These final results challenge the common presumption that mercury in urine is entirely derived from inhaled mercury vapor," stated lead investigator Laura Sherman, a postdoctoral investigation fellow in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Added co-investigator Joel D. Blum, a UM biogeochemist: "These info suggest that in populations that consume fish however lack occupational exposure to mercury vapor, mercury concentrations in urine may overestimate exposure to mercury vapor from dental amalgams. This is an essential concern for research seeking to determine the health risks of mercury vapor inhalation from dental amalgams."
Mercury is a normally occurring component, however is emitted into the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants, small-scale gold-mining operations, metals and cement manufacturing, incineration, and caustic soda production. A extremely toxic organic form of mercury can build up in fish and humans. It can cause destruction to the central nervous system, heart, and immune system.
Inorganic mercury can also cause central nervous system and kidney destruction. Exposure to inorganic mercury can occur through the inhalation of elemental mercury vapor by commercial workers and dentists who install mercury amalgam fillings.
Simply because the mercury discovered in urine is nearly entirely inorganic, complete mercury concentrations in urine are commonly used as an indication of exposure from dental amalgams. However the UM study indicates that urine includes a mix of inorganic mercury coming from dental amalgams and also mercury from fish.
The research was financed, in part, by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
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