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03 Dental Tribune Asia Pacific Edition | 11/2016 WORLD NEWS Dental fillings may contribute to increased levels of mercury in the body By DTI ATHENS, USA: Although the poten- tial adverse health effects of mer- cury have been the subject of debate for a long time, the extent to which dental fillings affect mer- cury levels in the body was still unclear. New research has now found that people with multiple dental fillings exhibited signifi- cantly elevated levels of mercury in their blood compared with people who did not have dental surface restorations. The study, which analysed data from nearly 15,000 individ- uals, is the first to demonstrate a link between dental fillings and mercury exposure in a nationally representative population. The re- searchers found that patients with more than eight fillings had about 150 per cent more mercury in their blood than those with none. They further analysed expo- sure by specific types of mercury and found a significant increase in methylmercury, the most toxic form of mercury, associated with dental fillings, suggesting that the human gut microbiota, a collec- tion of microorganisms living in the intestines, may transform dif- ferent types of mercury. Mercury exposure from den- tal fillings is not a new concern, but previous studies were incon- sistent and limited, according to Dr Xiaozhong Yu, co-author and As- sistant Professor of Environmental Health Science at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health. “This study is trying to pro- vide the most accurate levels of exposure, which will form the scientific basis to make future risk assessment,” Yu said. In response to the study, the American Dental Association (ADA) issued a press statement at the end of September that clarified that the association’s position on den- tal amalgam remains unchanged. “The mercury levels cited in the study did not exceed a level that according to the National Academy of Sciences would be known to cause adverse health effects. Thus no conclusions about the safety of dental amalgam should be drawn from this study. In addition, the study used data that included two different types of dental materials: composite, which does not contain mercury and dental amalgam, made from a combination of met- als including silver, copper, tin and mercury. It is important to note that since the study does not dif- ferentiate between the two filling materials, the study’s findings may be prone to over-interpretation,” the ADA stated. The ADA and the US Food and Drug Administration con- sider dental amalgam fillings safe for adults. However, they ad- vise against its use in pregnant women and children under the age of 6. The study, titled “Associations of blood mercury, inorganic mer- cury, methyl mercury and bis- phenol A with dental surface re- storations in the US population, NHANES 2003–2004 and 2010– 2012,” will be published in the De- cember issue of the Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety journal. It was conducted by researchers at the University of Georgia and the University of Washington. NOW AS A FLOW! Tetric ® N-Ceram Bulk Fill The efficient posterior composite P ATENTED L IGHT INITI A T O R Ivocerin ® Tetric® N-Flow Bulk Fill flowable Tetric® N-Ceram Bulk Fill sculptable * Compared with Tetric ® N-Flow and Tetric ® N-Ceram Data available on request. www.ivoclarvivadent.com Ivoclar Vivadent AG Bendererstr. 2 | 9494 Schaan | Liechtenstein | Tel.: +423 235 35 35 | Fax: +423 235 33 60 on time* and achieve amazing results 55% Save AD Bendererstr. 2 | 9494 Schaan | Liechtenstein | Tel.: +4232353535 | Fax: +4232353360