......................................................................................................... 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................... 9 1. BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 12 2. TERMS OF REFERENCE...................................................

Mercury is a toxic heavy metal which is widely dispersed in nature. Most human exposure results from fish consumption or dental amalgam. Mercury occurs in several chemical forms, with complex pharmacokinetics. Mercury is capable of inducing a wide range of clinical presentations. Diagnosis of mercury toxicity can be challenging but can be obtained with reasonable reliability. Effective therapie...

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...

OBJECTIVES Amalgam restorations are replaced by adhesively placed composite resin restorations at an increasing rate. After the removal of amalgam dentine often shows marked dark discoloration that is attributed to the penetration of corrosion products from overlying amalgams. It is questioned whether penetration of metals into dentine affects the dentine as a substrate for adhesive procedures....

AIM Data on the weights of amalgam restorations are lacking. The aim of this study was to determine these weights and to develop criteria to facilitate their estimation. METHODS Four separate regression models with 4 covariates in various combinations were used to estimate the weight of amalgam restorations. Model I, based on 514 restorations from both natural and anatomical replica teeth, co...

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this clinical study was to compare the blood mercury levels before and after endodontic surgery using amalgam as a root-end filling material. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fourteen patients requiring periradicular surgery participated in this prospective clinical study. A zinc-free amalgam was employed as root-end filling material. Blood samples were collected at three int...

We have synthesized a new Cu amalgam, the Cu-rich phase Cu3Hg. It crystallizes with the Ni3Sn structure type with a hexagonal unit cell (space group P63/mmc , a = 5.408(4) Å, c = 4.390(3) Å) and shows some mixed occupancy of Cu on the Hg site, resulting in a refined composition of Cu3.11Hg0.89. This is the first example of an amalgam with the Ni3Sn structure type where Hg is located mainly on t...

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 modulus of elasticity of dental amalgam has been determined by analysis of creep data (OGLESBY ET AL, J Res Natl Bur Stan 72C: 203, 1968) and by ultrasonic methods (DICKSON and OGLESBY, J Dent Res 46: 1475, 1967; HALL ET AL, J Dent Res 52: 390, 1973) to be between 63,000 and 70,000 MN/m2. These values represent the instantaneous elastic compliance term when dental amalgam is treated as a vi...