1: Occup Environ Med 1995 Feb;52(2):124-8 Related Articles, Books  

People with high mercury uptake from their own dental amalgam fillings.

Barregard L, Sallsten G, Jarvholm B.

Department of Occupational Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Goteborg,
Sweden.

OBJECTIVES--To describe people with high mercury (Hg) uptake from their amalgam
fillings, and to estimate the possible fraction of the occupationally unexposed
Swedish population with high excretion of urinary Hg. METHODS--Three case
reports are presented. The distribution of excretion of urinary Hg in the
general population was examined in pooled data from several sources.
RESULTS--The three cases excreted 23-60 micrograms of Hg/day (25-54
micrograms/g creatinine), indicating daily uptake of Hg as high as 100
micrograms. {*filter*} Hg was 12-23 micrograms/l, which is five to 10 times the
average in the general population. No other sources of exposure were found, and
removal of the amalgam fillings resulted in normal Hg concentrations. Chewing
gum and bruxism were the probable reasons for the increased Hg uptake.
Extrapolations from data on urinary Hg in the general population indicate that
the number of people with urinary excretion of > or = 50 micrograms/g
creatinine could in fact be larger than the number of workers with equivalent
exposure from occupational sources. CONCLUSION--Although the average daily Hg
uptake from dental amalgam fillings is low, there is a considerable variation
between people; certain people have a high mercury uptake from their amalgam
fillings.

PMID: 7757165 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]