Mercury free?

For many years now, mercury has been recognised as a dangerous neurotoxin that can cause serious health problems. Indeed, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mercury is rated as one of the top 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.

However things aren’t always as simple as they may seem. Dental professionals will be aware that mercury is a key component of dental amalgam, and there is a significant ongoing debate within the profession as to the impact and potential toxicity of dental amalgam fillings. The issue here is that on one level, all humans are exposed to some small dose of mercury, and there are a number of key factors that determine whether health effects occur. These include the type of mercury concerned, the dose, the duration of exposure, and the route of exposure (inhalation, ingestion or dermal contact).

Dangers

While the debate certainly still rages regarding the toxicity of mercury within the context of a dental filling, in other dental contexts, the dangers of mercury exposure are far more clear-cut. In 1996 Parsell et al, published an article on ‘Mercury release during autoclave sterilisation of amalgam’. In the study, it was found that mercury vapour levels within the room where amalgam was exposed to steam autoclave sterilisation reached levels that constitute an unnecessary health risk to members of the dental team.