Blood mercury levels of dental students and dentists at a dental school

WOS: 000172104200012PubMed ID: 11720018Objective To determine the blood mercury levels in dental students and clinical teaching staff in a dental school using amalgam as a restorative material. Setting A dental school in Ege University, Turkey surveyed during one academic year. Subjects and methods Cross-sectional study of groups of dental students (n=92) in years I to V, clinical teachers in restorative dentistry (n=16) and controls (n=14). Mercury concentration was estimated in venous blood samples using a cold vapour atomic absorption method at the commencement and end of the academic year. Daily air mercury levels were determined in clinical and teaching areas by measuring the darkening of palladium chloride discs using spectrophotometry. Results There were statistically significant increases (p