Abstract
Introduction: the biological safety of dental biomaterials has been questioned in human studies. Material and Methods: Several heavy metals/oligoelements were compared by Inductive Coupled Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) in hair samples from 130 patients (n = 54 patients with long-term titanium dental implants and amalgams (A + I group), 51 patients with long-term dental amalgam alone (A group), as well as controls (n = 25: without dental materials) of similar age. All patients (except controls) had had titanium dental implants and/or dental amalgams for at least 10 years (average: 17). We evaluated whether A + I patients could present higher systemic malondialdehyde levels (MDA) as compared to the A group. Results: The A + I group have lower molybdenum levels (A + I) and reduced Mo/Co and Mo/Fe2+ ratios, which could predispose them to oxidative stress by raising MDA levels as compared to the A group alone; our findings suggest that higher Co levels could enhance oxidative stress in the A + I group. However, there were no differences on metals from titanium alloy (Ti-6Al), Cr from crowns or Hg2+, Sn, Zn2+, Cu2+ levels between the A + I and A groups. Conclusion: patients with long-term dental titanium and amalgams have systemic oxidative stress due to rising MDA levels and lower Mo/Co and Mo/Fe2+ ratios than those with amalgams alone.
Highlights
Dental amalgam fillings contain 50% mercury, silver (Ag: 41%) together with minor constituents like tin (Sn: 8%), copper (Cu2+ ) or zinc (Zn2+ ) [1,2]
Increased Hg2+, Al, Zn2+, and Ni levels were observed in patients with long-term dental titanium implants and amalgams than in their respective controls
The Mo/Hg2+ and Mo/Co ratios decreased in patients who had long-term dental amalgams and titanium implants (A + I), suggesting reduced molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) levels
Summary
Dental amalgam fillings contain 50% mercury, silver (Ag: 41%) together with minor constituents like tin (Sn: 8%), copper (Cu2+ ) or zinc (Zn2+ ) [1,2]. These heavy metals/oligoelements can be detected in biological samples (urine, plasma, hair) by Inductive Coupled Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) [3,4]. Different oligoelements like Cu2+ , Fe2+ , Mn2+ , Zn2+ , or molybdenum (Mo) are necessary cofactors for certain enzymatic antioxidant activities [8]. Mo is a cofactor of xantin oxidase, which transforms hypoxanthine and xanthine into uric acid and can act as an antioxidant [9]. The National Academy of Science (USA) estimated day Mo intake as 106 micrograms for adult
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