Patients complaining about amalgam-related symptoms suffer more often from illnesses and chronic craniofacial pain...

All patients who during the academic year 1987-88 had come or were referred for investigation to the Institute of Dentistry, University of Oulu, because of their anticipated amalgam-related symptoms were included in the study. The group comprised 20 patients, 7 men and 13 women, 41.6 +/- 11.1 yr old. For paired controls, 20 age and sex matched subjects were randomly selected among other patients at the Institute. The subjects' medical and dental history was taken, they were all examined clinically, and saliva analyses were done. The subjects were tested with standard patch test series of 25 common dental allergens. All patients were given the possibility to give a blood test for mercury concentration analysis, but only five were willing to do so. The results showed that the group of 20 patients suffered significantly more often from medical illnesses than the controls (P less than 0.05). Chronic craniofacial pain was diagnosed significantly more often among the patients than in the controls (P less than 0.01). The controls had more caries than the patients, but there was no difference in any other clinical, salivary chemical or microbiological findings between the groups. In the five patients who gave blood samples, both inorganic and organic mercury levels were below threshold values. No difference was observed between the patients and controls in the allergy test reactions.