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The Potential Adverse Health Effects of Dental Amalgam

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Toxicological Reviews

Abstract

There is significant public concern about the potential health effects of exposure to mercury vapour (Hg0) released from dental amalgam restorations. The purpose of this article is to provide information about the toxicokinetics of Hg0, evaluate the findings from the recent scientific and medical literature, and identify research gaps that when filled may definitively support or refute the hypothesis that dental amalgam causes adverse health effects.

Dental amalgam is a widely used restorative dental material that was introduced over 150 years ago. Most standard dental amalgam formulations contain approximately 50% elemental mercury. Experimental evidence consistently demonstrates that Hg0 is released from dental amalgam restorations and is absorbed by the human body. Numerous studies report positive correlations between the number of dental amalgam restorations or surfaces and urine mercury concentrations in non-occupationally exposed individuals. Although of public concern, it is currently unclear what adverse health effects are caused by the levels of Hg0 released from this restoration material. Historically, studies of occupationally exposed individuals have provided consistent information about the relationship between exposure to Hg0 and adverse effects reflecting both nervous system and renal dysfunction. Workers are usually exposed to substantially higher Hg0 levels than individuals with dental amalgam restorations and are typically exposed 8 hours per day for 20–30 years, whereas persons with dental amalgam restorations are exposed 24 hours per day over some portion of a lifetime. This review has uncovered no convincing evidence pointing to any adverse health effects that are attributable to dental amalgam restorations besides hypersensitivity in some individuals.

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Acknowledgements

This review summarises the findings of a recent Life Sciences Research Office (LSRO) report (Brownawell AM, editor. Review and analysis of the potential adverse health effects of dental amalgam. Bethesda (MD): Life Sciences Research Office, 2004). The original project was funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, under contract no. N01-DE-12635. The publication of this review has been funded solely by LSRO. The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Life Sciences Research Office, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland, 20814-3998, USA

    Amy M. Brownawell

  2. University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Stanley Berent

  3. Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Thomas Jefferson University, Wilmington, Delaware, USA

    Robert L. Brent

  4. College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

    James V. Bruckner

  5. University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA

    John Doull

  6. University of California at Davis Medical School, Davis, California, USA

    Eric M. Gershwin

  7. Ronald D. Hood and Associates, Northport, Alabama, USA

    Ronald D. Hood

  8. The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

    Ronald D. Hood

  9. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Genevieve M. Matanoski

  10. Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Raphael Rubin

  11. University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York, USA

    Bernard Weiss

  12. Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Meryl H. Karol

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  1. Amy M. Brownawell
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  11. Meryl H. Karol
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Correspondence to Amy M. Brownawell.

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Brownawell, A.M., Berent, S., Brent, R.L. et al. The Potential Adverse Health Effects of Dental Amalgam. Toxicol Rev 24, 1–10 (2005). https://doi.org/10.2165/00139709-200524010-00001

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00139709-200524010-00001

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