DLP: What does the latest research reveal concerning lead in dental materials and its ability to get into the bloodstream?

DID YOU KNOW? Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDSs) must ”identify the chemicals and common name of ingredients which have been determined to be health hazards and which comprise 1% or greater of the composition, except carcinogens, which shall be listed if the concentrations are 0.1% or greater.” This is why you will not find many of the trace elements present in ceramics and other dental materials listed on your MSDSs.

Jefferies: There are very recent reports that the ADA provided in the ADA News on May 5 with respect to a preliminary assessment by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) based on the reported level of approximately 200 ppm lead in the Ohio woman’s bridge that was supposedly made offshore. The CDC indicated that it is highly unlikely that this level of lead would pose a health risk (see “CDC weighs in” side bar).

Nathanson: Certainly, there have been studies conducted by the major manufacturers on their materials that indicate the levels of lead within their porcelain materials and the results of solubility tests that give leachability levels of those porcelains. That information should be available to anyone in the profession.

To my knowledge, there are no available public records on the amount of lead in dental porcelains or independent studies on the leachability of lead from those porcelains over the course of their life expectancy in the mouth. It’s a wake-up call and should be dealt with by the manufacturing and regulating communities.

Please keep in mind that these materials have been in wide use for more than 40 years. If there were major problems with lead leaching into the body from porcelain, we would have had ample opportunity to discover such a widespread problem. However, there just is absolutely no evidence that such a problem exists.