Dental Metals: Is There a Health Risk?
Author(s): Saida El Khayati*, Karim El Khatib and Amal El Yamani
Abstract
Metals have been used extensively in industry, agriculture, but also in dentistry field. They are always present in our environment and represent a danger in the long term. The problem is that our body is not able to totally eliminate these metals, which accumulate there. In excess, they can represent a risk to our health. The purpose of this literature review is therefore to study these risks. The mouths of our patients contain a real mosaic of metals. Unaware of the danger, we have multiplied the alloys (there are more than 1,000) while some metals should never coexist in the same mouth. There are sometimes more than 30 different metallic materials in the same oral cavity, some are apparent, others buried inside the tooth roots, in the form of pivots or covered by the ceramic. The risks involved in the use of dental metals justify the public health interest that any therapist must give to galvanic phenomena in the oral cavity. Whenever it’s possible, preference should be given to prosthetic solutions that do not include metal. If the use of metal is essential for technical or economic reasons, it is imperative to keep the same alloy for all work. In addition, and concerning the field of research, it is necessary to carry out more high-level studies of scientific evidence related to the monitoring of dental metal intoxication and the action to be taken in order to standardize the protocols for taking in charge.