Exposure of dental personnel to chloroform in root-filling procedures.

The exposure of dental personnel to chloroform in root-filling procedures was evaluated. Four different root filling procedures were studied. In all the procedures studied, guttapercha was used as the root-filling material and chloroform or sealers containing chloroform were used. Ten teeth in each group were root-filled. In the first group, chloroform and 5% rosin in chloroform were administered in medical cups, in the second group chloroform and Kloroperka NO was administered in medical cups. In Group three a specially designed glass tube (S-endodip) was used for administration and in the fourth group specially selected plastic tubes were used. In the last two groups the sealers were chloroform and 5% rosin in chloroform. When medical cups were used the exposure reached levels close to the accepted limit values in Sweden, indicating that only one root filling per day can be performed without the dental team being unacceptably exposed. Using either the glass tube or the specially designed plastic tube, the exposure was significantly reduced for the dentist (p < 0.005) and for the nurse (p < 0.005). The mean exposure was 19.1 mg/m3 for the dentist and 11.6 mg/m3 for the nurse in the first experimental group. The mean values in the second group were 15.4 mg/m3 and 16.6 mg/m3 respectively. In the third group, the dentist was exposed to a mean of 4.4 mg/m3 and the nurse to 6.3 mg/m3. In the fourth group, the mean exposure was 2.2 mg/m3 and 3.4 mg/m3 respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)