The following is something that I have been warning about for many years now! ....Cheap outsourced lab work and non FDA approved materials being used in dental work ... in the mouth 24/7 possibly releasing what ever toxic materials like lead in this case? Cheap China (Mexico?) porcelain, plastic, metal, etc. instead of the USA FDA approved major brands like Ceramco, etc.

The biggest problem here is Americans that assumed they were getting the good stuff .. Noble and High Noble alloys, FDA approved and good brand named porcelains, etc. and paid the same or more than our patients do for the best ... and their dentist sent their work to the cheapest, biggest, dental laboratory they could find who ... maybe even unbeknownst to that dentist have these cheap cheap prices because they bypassed the American lab techs and out sourced to China, Mexico, etc. at pennys on the dollar.

Also using high noble and noble metals (the word noble in metals means the highest non reactive metal alloys possible .. i.e. Gold, Platinum, etc.) and reputable American dental labs, porcelains, etc. is very important to many of us dentists and patients if it is explained to them in advance.

In the out sourced metals and porcelains there may or may not be lead but even other possible things like Berrillium, Nickel, etc. ... many things potentially hyper- allergenic. That is why we have never done even one non precious cast metal fixed restoration ....(Even those that are approved by the FDA in the USA) because of the possible future allergy problems to any non noble metal. Just look at those of us that are allergic to any jewelry that is less than 18K gold like necklaces, etc. because the fillers are such low noble metals.

And replacing possibly hazardous porcelain materials air borne by grinding could be more dangerous for dentists and staff.

But the good news is ... the Lead in the porcelain even though recently found to be about 480 ppm may not even leach out at all ... Time and testing will tell. The Mercury in Silver alloys is very stable and one gets more Mercury from one Swordfish steak that you will get from your silver fillings in many years, but in this case time and research has proved it's safety. And only time will tell on other materials used in fixed (non-removable) dental work especially.

Here below is the breaking news that started it all .... and I did forward this info below to Good Morning America and 60 minutes around Feb or March sometime (as I'm sure those involved did much sooner than that) as I felt that this did warrant at least national attention even though it probably is not near as dangerous as it appears at first glance.



Feb. 26, 2008

Recently, NADL was contacted by a dental patient in Ohio who has documentation of lead contamination in her dental restoration. The affected patient, a senior citizen, received a three-unit dental bridge from a dentist in Ohio. After having an adverse reaction to her dental work, and having it removed, the dentist disclosed that the prescription was sent to an offshore dental laboratory and disclosed to the patient that the restoration was made in China. The patient then had the restoration sent to a chemical laboratory for analysis. The documentation of the dental material analysis of this patient’s restoration showed unsafe levels of lead in the porcelain on the restoration.

This case has attracted the attention of an Ohio television reporter who was already working on a story about offshore dental laboratory work. As part of the reporter’s investigative research for the story, the TV station ordered a series of crowns from several offshore dental laboratories. One of those restorations contained 210 parts per million of lead in the materials. The U.S. Congress, in response to the toy recalls in 2007, lowered the acceptable levels of lead in toys to 90 parts per million.

The testing of these restorations for the reporter’s investigation was conducted by a chemical research laboratory in Ohio and, at the suggestion of NADL, at the Boston University School of Dental Medicine. In addition to the documentation of lead, the chemical analysis revealed the restoration contains traces of radioactive isotopes.

The reporter contacted NADL and interviewed co-executive director, Bennett Napier, CAE, for this story. Others interviewed include the attorney for the patient in Ohio; a lead expert; a spokesperson from the Ohio Dental Board, a Columbus dentist and laboratory owners from central Ohio. The TV report contains position statements or quotes from the American Dental Association and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

WBNS 10 TV in Columbus, Ohio, will broadcast this story Wednesday. You can view the full investigative report Wednesday evening at the station’s Web site www.10tv.com. The owners of the regional television station also own the Columbus Dispatch, the local daily newspaper. An article about the story will be run in that paper’s Thursday, February 28th edition.

It is likely that with the significance of this story it may be picked up by other media outlets in large metropolitan areas by the end of this week and possibly may be picked by national news media outlets as well.

Dangerous Levels of Lead Found in Dental Porcelain from China

Also .... If dental work were checked from most other places from out side the USA especiallylike Mexico .. Prolly all the porcelain teeth made and used in their dentures are from China too ... The cost of the best FDA cleared porcelain like Ceramco would probably cost more than their entire denture.



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