title: Whole-body imaging of the distribution of mercury released from dental fillings into monkey tissues.
abstract: The fate of mercury (Hg) released from dental "silver" amalgam tooth fillings into human mouth air is uncertain. A previous report about sheep revealed uptake routes and distribution of amalgam Hg among body tissues. The present investigation demonstrates the bodily distribution of amalgam Hg in a monkey whose dentition, diet, feeding regimen, and chewing pattern closely resemble those of humans. When amalgam fillings, which normally contain 50% Hg, are made with a tracer of radioactive 203Hg and then placed into monkey teeth, the isotope appears in high concentration in various organs and tissues within 4 wk. Whole-body images of the monkey revealed that the highest levels of Hg were located in the kidney, gastrointestinal tract, and jaw. The dental profession's advocacy of silver amalgam as a stable tooth restorative material is not supported by these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kloiber
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Leininger
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vimy
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Lorscheider
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D004064:Digestive System / Q000378:metabolism; D007568:Jaw / Q000378:metabolism; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008631:Mercury Radioisotopes; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D008631:Mercury Radioisotopes; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D008628:Mercury