Studies of electrochemical action in the oral cavity.

A method for in vivo measurements of potentials and polarizations of metallic dental restorations was presented. The precision of this method allowed for calculation to be made of the electrochemical action in the oral cavity in terms of currents created at contact between metallic restorative materials. With this method, an epidemiological investigation was performed on persons, who had received dental treatments including extensive metallic restorations. Those persons suffering from oral symptoms allegedly caused by oral galvanism were not found to have higher electrochemical action in the oral cavity than persons, selected as a control, without symptoms ascribed to oral galvanism. Persons ailing from this type of symptoms showed, however, lower threshold levels for electric stimulation, examined with an electrogustometric method, than persons without symptoms. Finally, determination of the saliva concentrations of various metallic components with atomic absorption spectrophotometry did not reveal any differences between persons with or without metallic restorations. Neither were any correlations found between saliva ion concentrations and the magnitude of currents created at metallic contact between dental restorations.