Formaldehyde in Dentistry: The Irrational Fear of a Human Endogenous Substance

T here is significant anxiety concerning the use of formaldehyde (CHHO) in dentistry. The carcinogenicity and cytotoxicity of CHHO is always noted in the dental literature as a significant problem. The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario proclaimed in 1996 that the use of paraformaldehyde containing endodontic filling materials constituted professional misconduct. This was proclaimed in the RCDSO magazine Dispatch1 with no scientific references, although the article did refer to the “extensive scientific research into the biological effects of paraformaldehyde containing endodontic filling materials”. Yet a search of the literature mainly reveals case reports of injury from overfills into the mandibular nerve canal. There have been reports of problems with overfills using many endodontic filling materials, including gutta percha extruded into the maxillary sinus.2 To claim that these overfills make CHHO unsafe in dentistry is an improper use of case reports. Formaldehyde – The Ubiquitous