title: Exposure to mercury among dental health workers in Turkey: correlation with amalgam work and own fillings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the current status of exposure to mercury (Hg) among dental health workers in Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 115 persons working in the same hospital were included in the study and were divided into three groups. Group 1 consisted of 67 dentists; group 2 consisted of 21 dental personnel who work with amalgam, and group 3 consisted of 27 control subjects who work in the same hospital but are non-dental personnel. The number of amalgam fillings that have been made by the dentists and the number of own fillings of the subjects were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plasma Hg levels were found to be 3.76 ± 1.84, 3.54 ± 1.83, and 2.69 ± 0.97 µg/L in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Hg concentrations in group 1 were significantly higher than the control group. There was no significant difference between groups 1 and 2. The number of amalgam fillings made by the dentists in the previous year correlated significantly with plasma Hg levels (r = 0.378, p < 0.01). There was no significant correlation between the own amalgam fillings in the teeth of the subjects and Hg levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preventive measures for protection from exposure to Hg are necessary for occupational health in dentistry and proper industrial hygiene rules should be emphasized to avoid contamination during work.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital, Ankara, Turkey hincyilmaz@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hınç
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Ankara Occupational Diseases Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tutkun
authors.affiliation: Tepebaşı Oral and Dental Health Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemal Ö
authors.initials: KÖ
authors.lastname: Demiralp
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatma M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Vugar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aliyev
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tülin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Söylemezoğlu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003723:Dental Amalgam; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003815:Dentists; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D003723:Dental Amalgam; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Mercury; amalgam; dental health worker; dentist