Lead levels in dentine and circumpulpal dentine of deciduous teeth of normal and lead poisoned children.

A method for the preparation of circumpulpal dentine for lead analysis is described. The technique consists of cutting 6oo-,L-thin sections of deciduous teeth, and, utilizing a vice, fracturing off the circumpulpal dentine from the coronal dentine. Both dentine and circumpulpal dentine of teeth of normal American children and previously identified lead-poisoned children were prepared in this fashion and analyzed for lead. Comparing the lead-poisoned teeth with normal teeth, the results indicate that a 6-fold difference in the mean lead content existed between the two groups. The uptake of lead by the two dentine zones at low levels of lead intake was also examined. Thus, comparing tooth lead levels of normal American and Icelandic children, 2-3 times less lead was found in the teeth of Icelandic children. The sensitivity of the dentinal zones for lead, the simplicity of the preparative method and the ease of collection of the teeth supports the use of teeth as useful indicators of previous lead exposure.