Potential teratogenic and carcinogenic effects of dental materials

Public awareness of potential health hazards from drugs and chemicals is increasing. Doubts about dental materials are also being raised. However, there is a fundamental difference in the magnitude of exposure from potent drugs and from dental materials, which are designed to be as inert and stable as possible; the risk to health could a priori be considered very low. The risk to the patient and to dental personnel should be evaluated separately and based on relevant conditions of exposure and available toxicological data for the specific chemicals released from the dental materials in question. This paper also reviews, briefly, the theories for chemically-induced teratogenic and carcinogenic effects in general, in order to put into perspective suspected adverse reactions to dental materials.