Side-effects of dental materials reported in Scandinavian countries.

Dental treatment usually involves a wide range of materials which continue to grow in number and complexity. During the last decade there has been an increasing demand for safety evaluation and control of dental materials. Since it is the members of the dental staff who handle the materials in their most reactive states they constitute the main risk category. Bearing this in mind reported side-effects in both patients and dental personnel in Scandinavia are presented. Data from the only two existing national registers for side-effects of dental materials, i.e. those in Norway and Sweden, are thus elucidated. Furthermore, recent mainly Scandinavian publications dealing with the side-effects of dental materials are presented. It can be concluded that a national register on the side-effects of dental materials, apart from revealing information regarding their frequency and nature, may detect changes in the profiles of adverse reactions and also serve as a tool for the post-marketing surveillance of dental materials.