Abstract
BackgroundThe elemental composition of bones and teeth can allow exposure to heavy metals in the environment to be estimated. The aim of this study was to determine whether impacted mandibular teeth and the surrounding bones can be used as biomonitoring media to assess exposure to heavy metals.MethodsThe research materials were 67 impacted lower third molars and samples of the cortical bone removed when the wisdom teeth were surgically extracted. The samples were from people living in two areas with different environmental concentrations of heavy metals. The cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc concentrations in the samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry with flame atomization.ResultsThe cadmium and lead concentrations in the impacted third molars and the bones surrounding the teeth were significantly higher for people living in the relatively polluted Ruda Slaska region than for people living in Bielsko-Biala region. Significantly higher chromium, copper, manganese, and zinc concentrations were found in the bones surrounding the impacted teeth from people living in Ruda Slaska than in the bones surrounding the impacted teeth from people living in Bielsko-Biala. The cadmium concentrations in impacted teeth and the surrounding bones were significantly positively correlated.ConclusionThe results indicated that impacted mandibular teeth and the surrounding mandibular bones may reflect the exposure of people to cadmium and lead in the environment. This conclusion, however, must be verified in future research projects designed to exclude the possibility of additional dietary, occupational, and other types of exposure to heavy metals.
Highlights
The elemental composition of bones and teeth can allow exposure to heavy metals in the environment to be estimated
The Student’s t-test results indicated that the cadmium and lead concentrations were significantly higher in the tooth and bone samples provided by people living in Ruda Slaska than in the samples provided by people living in Bielsko-Biala
The chromium, copper, manganese, and zinc concentrations were significantly higher in the bone samples provided by the Ruda Slaska citizens than in the bone samples provided by the Bielsko-Biala citizens
Summary
The elemental composition of bones and teeth can allow exposure to heavy metals in the environment to be estimated. The elemental compositions of the bones and teeth of a person can provide information on the diet and health of that person and the exposure of the person to chemicals in the environment [1,2,3]. It should be noted that tooth enamel is constantly in direct contact with the environment of the oral cavity This means that many physiological and pathological factors that affect the oral cavity (such as the carious process, the consumption of food, and the use of drugs) can affect the elemental compositions of the surface layers of teeth [11]
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