Recently in the news there was a story written about the plastic in bottles that certain companies use for bottling their water. The focus of the article was a chemical found in the plastics that could have an effect on humans. The name of this chemical is BisPhenol A, or BPA. Further review finds that BPA is found in many consumer products.
So what#'s the big deal with BPA? Laboratory studies have suggested that BPA can interfere with reproduction and development by mimicking the effects of the female hormone estrogen. It is to be noted that these findings are only observed in the laboratory and fortunately effects have not been seen in humans. BPA is used as I mentioned before in the manufacturing of linings that coat cans and plastic bottles. It can also be found in plastic tableware, some children's toys and, as was also reported in a separate news report, in infant plastic bottles.
Where does dentistry fall into this? In many practices that have chosen to stop using the silver mercury fillings, the mainstay restorative material is composite resin. Also to be noted is that one of the components of a comprehensive preventive program for children and adolescents is dental sealants. Both the composite filling material and the dental sealant do not contain BPA but studies have shown that there may be minute exposures to BPA due to enzymes in saliva reacting with sealants and composite resin fillings. The Department of Health and Human Services issued a report in November. To quote this report, “This exposure is considered an acute and infrequent exposure with little relevance to estimating general population exposures.” In other words, the minimal, if any, exposure is of no consequence when measuring a person's total exposure to the BPA chemical.
This all appears to be much ado about nothing as far as dentistry is concerned. It is a positive thing that the Department of Health and Human Services at least chose to address the lack of exposure and make a point that the materials used in dentistry are of no concern.
There was another story which came out in the news media recently which may have caught some of your eyes. It was about a dentist and a new reporter in Ohio who had a crown made. Upon testing it was discovered that the crown was made by a laboratory that outsourced some of its work to China. The crown was found to have an enormous amount of lead present. According to the American Dental Association, an estimated 15 to 20 percent of dental prostheses originate in foreign laboratories. An even smaller percent originate in China. Is this to say that you should be concerned of lead exposure in your crowns? My own opinion is that each of us as dental providers has to be able to answer to our patients as to the content of the metal or porcelain used in their crown.
There are several levels of crowns prescribed by dentists to be made by laboratories. The differentiation is made depending on the gold content of the metal. There is non precious, semi precious and high noble. There are also all ceramic crowns which are made differently. The non precious crown is made with a primarily nickel beryllium alloy. With approximately 50 percent of American females being allergic to nickel I can proudly say that that in my 17 years of practicing in my current location neither my partner nor I have placed one of these in a patient. The semi precious alloy crown has high strength with safe metals such as palladium and gold. The high noble crown has a percent of gold above a certain percent to be classified as this.
As to what is in the metal in your crown, it is up to your dentist and you to decide that. Laboratories make crowns based on what the dentist prescribes. Whether or not your crown has been outsourced to a foreign country is only known by the laboratory and hopefully your dentist. Today's global economy and the availability to get a crown to another part of the world with just a plane ride make it easy to have larger labs outsource some of their work. Both the ADA and the National Association of Dental Laboratories have made statements regarding this outsourcing. I hope to speak with the owner of our local BonaDent Laboratory for a future column.
Dr. Michael K. Keating, DDS, is a dentist in Auburn and can be reached at 252-7278 or e-mail him at DrMike@FingerLakesSmiles.com
Where does dentistry fall into this? In many practices that have chosen to stop using the silver mercury fillings, the mainstay restorative material is composite resin. Also to be noted is that one of the components of a comprehensive preventive program for children and adolescents is dental sealants. Both the composite filling material and the dental sealant do not contain BPA but studies have shown that there may be minute exposures to BPA due to enzymes in saliva reacting with sealants and composite resin fillings. The Department of Health and Human Services issued a report in November. To quote this report, “This exposure is considered an acute and infrequent exposure with little relevance to estimating general population exposures.” In other words, the minimal, if any, exposure is of no consequence when measuring a person's total exposure to the BPA chemical.
This all appears to be much ado about nothing as far as dentistry is concerned. It is a positive thing that the Department of Health and Human Services at least chose to address the lack of exposure and make a point that the materials used in dentistry are of no concern.
There was another story which came out in the news media recently which may have caught some of your eyes. It was about a dentist and a new reporter in Ohio who had a crown made. Upon testing it was discovered that the crown was made by a laboratory that outsourced some of its work to China. The crown was found to have an enormous amount of lead present. According to the American Dental Association, an estimated 15 to 20 percent of dental prostheses originate in foreign laboratories. An even smaller percent originate in China. Is this to say that you should be concerned of lead exposure in your crowns? My own opinion is that each of us as dental providers has to be able to answer to our patients as to the content of the metal or porcelain used in their crown.
There are several levels of crowns prescribed by dentists to be made by laboratories. The differentiation is made depending on the gold content of the metal. There is non precious, semi precious and high noble. There are also all ceramic crowns which are made differently. The non precious crown is made with a primarily nickel beryllium alloy. With approximately 50 percent of American females being allergic to nickel I can proudly say that that in my 17 years of practicing in my current location neither my partner nor I have placed one of these in a patient. The semi precious alloy crown has high strength with safe metals such as palladium and gold. The high noble crown has a percent of gold above a certain percent to be classified as this.
As to what is in the metal in your crown, it is up to your dentist and you to decide that. Laboratories make crowns based on what the dentist prescribes. Whether or not your crown has been outsourced to a foreign country is only known by the laboratory and hopefully your dentist. Today's global economy and the availability to get a crown to another part of the world with just a plane ride make it easy to have larger labs outsource some of their work. Both the ADA and the National Association of Dental Laboratories have made statements regarding this outsourcing. I hope to speak with the owner of our local BonaDent Laboratory for a future column.
Dr. Michael K. Keating, DDS, is a dentist in Auburn and can be reached at 252-7278 or e-mail him at DrMike@FingerLakesSmiles.com
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.