Side-effects of dental ceramics

Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912.

Evaluation of side-effects to low-dose exposure of any agent is difficult, especially if the agent exhibits a low toxicity. The most common way to approach such evaluation is to define special groups which are exposed more than others. Studies of such risk groups may facilitate interpretation of information related to those exposed to a low dose. For dental materials, dentists, dental assistants, and laboratory technicians represent typical risk groups. In addition to receiving dental treatments and having restorations like anyone else, they handle the materials in their daily work. The exposure to the materials occurs more frequently and at a higher dose for these groups than for the patient receiving dental treatment. Thus, the possibilities for side-effects are greater. Some materials are handled more closely by laboratory technicians than by other members of the dental team, e.g., dental ceramics.