Estrogenicity of resin-based composites and sealants in dentistry.

Estrogenicity of Resin-based Composites and Sealants in Dentistry The recent article "Estrogenicity of Resinbased Composites and Sealants Used in Dentistry," appearing in the March 1996 Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP 104:298-305) raises some familiar concerns that critics of the profession have espoused. Historically, many of the materials that have been common in the dental armamentarium have assumed their role through historical acceptance. Bisphenol-A diglycidyl methacrylate (bis-GMA) has been tested for safety and efficacy at the ADA as a dental material. It has never been assessed for its estrogenicity. The thesis elaborated in this artide states that the sealant and resin components bisphenolA and bisphenol-A dimethacrylate are estrogenic and probably contribute to xenoestrogen exposure in humans. The potential deleterious effects of bisphenol-A and its degradation products are well documented. However, considering past hysteria about dental amalgam and the potential for the spread of cross-contamination-type infections, the need should be for scientific evidence which will define if risk is present; and, if so, what is the gravity of that risk? Although the research reported was well done, it is a preliminary report. More comprehensive studies should be undertaken that will identify the potential for problems. Potential dangers that bisphenol-A-containing dental products possess should be assessed through scientific research. Hopefully, hysterical outcries form the press will not outweigh the need for quality investigation in this area. Programs that encompass research at the laboratory bench level should be undertaken and carried through animal models, and finally, in situ evaluation in humans should be elaborated. As dental researchers, practicing wet fingered dentists, and academics, we feel that before conclusions are made condemning composite resins and resin sealants, scientific evidence should be gathered to deny or substantiate these concerns. As dental professionals who have seen dentistry criticized for the use of mercury in restoratives and the lack of appropriate disinfection procedures for our instruments and equipment, we feel that this issue should be resolved through competent scientific investigation. Hopefully, this issue will be addressed in a more intellectual and scientific manner than the emotion and hysteria that has been the center of some issues in dentistry in the recent past.