Whole-body imaging of the distribution of mercury released from dental fillings into monkey tissues

Journal Article · Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (USA)

OSTI ID:6064738

Hahn, L J; Kloiber, R; Leininger, R W; Vimy, M J; Lorscheider, F L ^[1]

---

1. Univ. of Calgary, Alberta (Canada)

The fate of mercury (Hg) released from dental silver amalgam tooth fillings into human mouth air is uncertain. A previous report about sheep revealed uptake routes and distribution of amalgam Hg among body tissues. The present investigation demonstrates the bodily distribution of amalgam Hg in a monkey whose dentition, diet, feeding regimen, and chewing pattern closely resemble those of humans. When amalgam fillings, which normally contain 50% Hg, are made with a tracer of radioactive {sup 203}Hg and then placed into monkey teeth, the isotope appears in high concentration in various organs and tissues within 4 wk. Whole-body images of the monkey revealed that the highest levels of Hg were located in the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, and jaw. The dental profession's advocacy of silver amalgam as a stable tooth restorative material is not supported by these findings.

• OSTI ID: 6064738
• Journal Information: FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology); (USA), Vol. 4:14; ISSN 0892-6638
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
MERCURY
METABOLISM
DENTISTRY
GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT
JAW
KIDNEYS
MERCURY 203
MONKEYS
SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
TEETH
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
TRACER TECHNIQUES
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
MEDICINE
MERCURY ISOTOPES
METALS
NUCLEI
ORAL CAVITY
ORGANS
PRIMATES
RADIOISOTOPES
SKELETON
SKULL
TOMOGRAPHY
VERTEBRATES
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
550601 - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics