Research Article
Use of Mercury in Dental Silver Amalgam: An Occupational and Environmental Assessment
Table 1
Sociodemographic characteristics of the dentists, dental assistants, and controls.
| Characteristics | Dentists () | Dental assistants () | Controls () | | % | | % | | % |
| Age (years) | | | | | | | 21–30 (group 1) | 12 | 32 | 19 | 55 | 11 | 36 | 31–40 (group 2) | 11 | 30 | 13 | 29 | 8 | 27 | 41–50 (group 3) | 8 | 22 | 5 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 51–60 (group 4) | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | Sex | | | | | | | Male | 33 | 89 | 31 | 100 | 27 | 90 | Female | 4 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | Smoking | | | | | | | Yes | 8 | 22 | 18 | 58 | 11 | 37 | No | 29 | 78 | 13 | 42 | 19 | 63 | Working hours | | | | | | | Less than 6 | 14 | 38 | 9 | 29 | — | — | 6–8 | 21 | 57 | 16 | 52 | — | — | More than 8 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 19 | — | — | Years of experience | | | | | | | Less than 5 | 7 | 19 | 9 | 29 | — | — | 5–10 | 11 | 30 | 12 | 39 | — | — | More than 10 | 19 | 51 | 10 | 32 | — | — | Frequent fish consumption | | | | | | | Yes | 12 | 32 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 33 | No | 25 | 68 | 28 | 90 | 20 | 67 | Amalgam filling per week | | | | | | | <5 | 16 | 43 | 11 | 36 | — | — | 5–10 | 17 | 46 | 15 | 48 | — | — | >10 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 16 | — | — | Own amalgam filling | | | | | | | Yes | 27 | 73 | 19 | 61 | 14 | 47 | No | 10 | 27 | 12 | 39 | 16 | 53 | Number of fillings | | | | | | | <2 | 16 | 59 | 6 | 32 | 9 | 64 | 2–5 | 11 | 41 | 11 | 58 | 5 | 36 | >5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
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Fish consumption at least once a week. Applicable to subjects with their own amalgam filling.
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