The determination of mercury levels in the blood and hair of rabbits with amalgam fillings

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the level of blood and hair mercury transition in rabbits depending on the number of amalgam filled teeth in the mouth.
 Material and Methods: A total of 18 male rabbits from New Zealand were used in the study. The rabbits were separated into three groups in this study. The first group was named as control group, the second group was named as dichotomous filled group, and the third group was named as quadruple amalgam filled group. Blood samples were collected from filler animals before the filling, at 24 hour, at the first week and month and also hair samples were taken before the filling and at the first month. The transfer of mercury, taken by the blood and feather samples of rabbits in the study, was made with the hydride system in the absorption spectrophometer.
 Results: The data’s, obtained from the study, were evaluated by using the SPSS 21 package program. Compared by the control group at the 24th hour, any statically difference wasn’t seen between dichotomous and quadruple amalgam filling groups in terms of blood mercury level. (P>0.05). However, the level of blood mercury, one week and one month later was significantly higher than the control group.(P<0.05) In the all periods, the level of blood mercury was found similar between dichotomous and quadruple amalgam filling groups (P>0.05).
 Conclusions: Mercury couldn’t be detected in hair samples. As a result, it was revealed that amalgam filling affects the blood mercury level.
 
 How to cite this article: Yerebasan Ü, Servi K, Ataş O, Doğan MS. The determination of mercury levels in the blood and hair of rabbits with amalgam fillings. Int Dent Res 2020;10(1):12-16. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2020.vol10.no1.3
 
 Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.