Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. XIV. Zinc and copper concentrations in deciduous teeth.

Zinc and copper concentrations were analysed from cariesfree deciduous teeth of 125 Finnish children, 6-7- and 9-10-year-olds, from three cities. Enamel and dentine were separated and prepared into pills which were analysed individually with the proton induced x-ray emission spectrometry (PIXE) method. The total mean (+/- SD) zinc concentrations for enamel and dentine were 143 +/- 31 and 133 +/- 36 ppm, respectively, and are in agreement with the values reported recently. The median copper concentration for enamel was 0.54 ppm with a range from 0.0 to 4.29 and for dentine 0.27 ppm with a range from 0.0 to 3.60 being among the lowest reported. The low copper values are interesting as to the possible association with the development of atherosclerosis. Geographical differences were noted between the zinc concentrations of the three cities, the children of Helsinki having significantly higher zinc values than the children of Kuopio and Oulu. No linear correlation was found between zinc and copper concentrations at the individual level.