Model for assessment of lead content in human surface enamel

Acid etch surface enamel microbiopsies were taken in vitro and in vivo and analyzed for lead using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The in vitro samples were obtained from subjects resident in an urbanized region in Belgium or from a region close to a nonferrometal industrial plant. The smaller set of in vivo samples were all from subjects resident in an urbanized region. Using a regression tree approach it was possible to identify in a stepwise manner factors that contributed to the variation of lead in the samples. For the in vitro as well as in vivo samples, the etch depth, tooth type, and age of the subjects were identified as significant factors but sex and dental arch quadrant were not. The residual lead levels obtained after regression with the significant factors were better distributed with much lesser variance. Moreover, a significant higher lead concentration could be demonstrated in the in vitro samples from the region close to the nonferrometal industrial plant.