title: Use of Mercury in Dental Silver Amalgam: An Occupational and Environmental Assessment.
abstract: The objective of this study was to assess the occupational exposure to mercury in dentistry and associated environmental emission in wastewater of Lahore, Pakistan. A total of ninety-eight blood samples were collected comprising 37 dentists, 31 dental assistants, and 30 controls. Results demonstrate that the dentistry personnel contained significantly higher mean concentration of mercury in their blood samples (dentists: 29.835 µg/L and dental assistants: 22.798 µg/L) compared to that of the controls (3.2769 µg/L). The mean concentration of mercury was found maximum in the blood samples of older age group (62.8 µg/L) in dentists and (44.3 µg/L) in dental assistants. The comparison of mercury concentration among dentists, dental assistants, and controls (pairing based on their ages) revealed that the concentration increased with the age and experience among the dentists and dental assistants. Moreover, the mercury concentration in all the studied dental wastewater samples, collected from twenty-two dental clinics, was found to be exceeding the recommended discharge limit of 0.01 mg/L. Therefore, we recommend that immediate steps must be taken to ensure appropriate preventive measures to avoid mercury vapors in order to prevent potential health hazards to dentistry personnel. Strong regulatory and administrative measures are needed to deal with mercury pollution on emergency basis.
authors.affiliation: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jamil
authors.affiliation: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Mujtaba
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1457-1659
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baqar
authors.affiliation: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Samar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ilyas
authors.affiliation: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Qadir
authors.affiliation: College of Petroleum and Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geology, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Naveed
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahsan
authors.affiliation: College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Hina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zahid
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003723:Dental Amalgam / Q000032:analysis*; D003726:Dental Assistants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018057:Dental Waste / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003815:Dentists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012834:Silver / Q000097:blood; D062065:Wastewater / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D003723:Dental Amalgam; D018057:Dental Waste; D008628:Mercury; D012834:Silver; D062065:Wastewater