Factors affecting blood mercury concentrations in practicing dentists.

It has been suggested that mercury vapor may be transformed into highly toxic organomercury compounds by micro-organisms in the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. If this hypothesis is correct, practicing dentists might be expected to have concentrations of organic mercury in their blood higher than that found in non-dentists. Blood mercury concentrations of practicing dentists and non-dentists were determined by means of cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Potential sources of mercury exposure were identified in both dentists and non-dentists through a questionnaire completed at the time of sampling. Concentrations of total and inorganic blood mercury were significantly higher in dentists than in non-dentists. The organomercury concentrations of the two groups were not statistically different (p greater than or equal to 0.05). The high concentration of inorganic mercury in the blood of dentists was not related to the organomercury level, suggesting that biotransformation of inorganic mercury to organomercury does not occur in vivo. However, the concentration of blood organomercury was positively correlated with the frequency of fish consumption. There was no correlation between the number of amalgam restorations and the concentration of inorganic blood mercury for both groups. Accidental mercury spills in the dental operatory may contribute most to the concentration of inorganic blood mercury in the blood of dentists.