Lead levels in circumpulpal dentine of children from different geographic areas.

Lead pollution can produce a variety of effects on the human body. Shed deciduous teeth were collected from primary school children in urban, suburban and rural areas in South Africa. The lead content was determined through atomic-absorption spectrophotometry. The average circumpulpal dentine lead levels in the urban, suburban and rural samples are 74.5, 44.3 and 26.5 parts/10(6) respectively. From the results it is clear that this most inner part of dentine (approximately 300 microns thick) can concentrate up to five times more lead than the total dentine. Comparison of the lead ratio of circumpulpal dentine to that of the total dentine for the different areas demonstrates the greatest tendency for preferential lead accumulation in the circumpulpal dentine. Lead analysis of circumpulpal dentine revealed that in deciduous teeth the lead level was related to the degree of industrialization.