OBJECTIVES We present total mercury (THg) in blood of Canadians 6-79 years of age from the first to-date nationally-representative survey, the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). This analysis is particularly relevant in the context of recent changes to Health Canada's blood Hg guidance values. METHODS We used data from cycle 1 (2007-2009) of the CHMS, in particular focussing on 5,319 res...

Mercury in dentistry has re-emerged as a contentious issue in public health, predominantly because so many people are inadvertently exposed to mercury in order to obtain the benefits of dental amalgam fillings, and the risks remain difficult to interpret. This commentary aims to examine the issues involved in public policy assessment of the continued use of dental amalgam in dentistry. More tha...

The mercury content in hair, for exposed dental workers and unexposed groups of people living in Albania was studied. The influence of factors such as age, sex, body weight, fish consumption in the diet, number of dental amalgam fillings and time exposed to mercury, was determined. The mean value of mercury content in hair for the subjects under study (0.705 microg/g) was found to be lower than...

OBJECTIVE Exposure to mercury can occur in occupational and environmental settings. During clinical work with dental amalgam, the dental personnel are exposed to both metallic mercury and mercury vapor. The aim of the present study was to investigate blood mercury level (BML) and its determinants among dentists practicing in Hamadan city, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross sectional study...

BACKGROUND Dental amalgam is a source of elemental and inorganic mercury. The safety of dental amalgam in individuals remains a controversial issue. Urinary mercury concentrations are used to assess chronic exposure to elemental mercury. At present, there are no indications of mercury-associated adverse effects at levels below 5 μg Hg/g creatinine (Cr) or 7 μg Hg/L (urine). The purpose of the p...

The multitracer method is a new tracer technique which makes it possible to trace the physical and chemical behavior of many elements simultaneously in the same environment, by using the radioactive nuclear species of various elements manufactured simultaneously. While the various studies using this technique are advancing at a rapid pace, many developments in the multitracer production method ...

AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate mercury levels in wastewater and in patients during the removal of dental amalgam restorations. MATERIALS AND METHODS To test for mercury levels, patients were tested before and after amalgam restoration removal. To test for mercury emissions, samples of constant volume of wastewater from high-speed drills were collected before and during amalgam rest...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to evaluate the awareness of patients with dental fillings about the toxicity of mercury in dental amalgam. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adult patients having at least one amalgam filling in their mouth were recruited in the Oral Diagnosis Department of OAUTHC, Ile-Ife Dental Hospital. Participants were recruited consecutively as they report in the clinic. Da...