Effect of long term 900 MHz radiofrequency radiation on enamel microhardness of rat's teeth.

PURPOSE Oral tissues are important parts of body that absorbs radiation emitted from mobile phones which is the most popular technological equipment in the world. Because of the limited studies in this field, we aimed to investigate the effect of Radio Frequency (RF) radiation emitted from 900 MHz mobile phones on the enamel micro hardness of rat teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out on twenty one Wistar Albino adult male rats which were divided into two groups such as control and experiment groups. For the study group (n: 14), rats exposed to the radiation 2 h per day (7 days in a week) for 10 months. For the control group (n: 7), rats were placed into the carousel and the same procedure was applied except that the generator was turned off. At the end of the study, enamel micro hardness of rat's teeth was measured. RESULTS The results of this study showed that 900 MHz RF radiation did not alter the enamel micro hardness of rats' teeth (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Exposure of 900 MHz RF radiation for 2 hours per day during ten months does not alter enamel micro hardness of rats' teeth. However, further studies are necessary to clarify this topic.