Recently, the dangers of imported goods have never been more prominent. From Chinese manufactured toys contaminated with lead to diseased salmon imported from Chile, Americans are faced with unprecedented health risks. On February 27, 2008 a television station in Columbus, Ohio reported a case where a woman received a fixed partial bridge contaminated with lead. Chemical laboratory results confirmed the lead found in the porcelain of the bridge to be dangerously high. Like most other cases, the fixed partial bridge was fabricated in a dental laboratory in China. Doctors have not determined the effects of the toxin on the woman.
The American Dental Association (ADA) acted promptly after this report and used their resources to further investigate this claim. The ADA worked closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other state and federal agencies to determine what can be done to help protect the public from raw materials or manufacturing of dental prostheses that may pose potential hazards. The ADA is proposing a requirement where all dental laboratories must disclose to the dentist where a product was manufactured and what materials were used. Such information can be useful to the dentist, patient, or governmental agency if it is found necessary to track or trace the source of a dental prosthesis.
According to the National Association of Dental Laboratories, about 15-20 percent of all dental prostheses are outsourced. Although all labs, domestic and foreign, are required to use only FDA-approved materials, the FDA only inspects less than one percent of all dental prostheses imported from overseas. However, according to the ADA, the concern should not be where the dental prostheses were made, but whether or not the laboratories that make them follow FDA guideline and use FDA-approved materials.
In a news release by the ADA, patients were encouraged to discuss any concerns about the safety of their dental crowns or other prosthetic devices with their dentists. Here are some questions you can discuss with your dentist:
• Do you produce your own crowns, bridges and other dental materials in the office
or purchase them from a dental laboratory?
• Where is the dental lab located?
• Does the lab outsource crowns or bridges to a foreign country?
• If the lab is in a foreign country, does it provide written documentation that it is
registered with the FDA?
• Does the lab provide written documentation that it uses FDA-approved materials?
Although it is impossible to test all dental prostheses fabricated in the US or abroad for lead, asking the right questions can reduce our risks of lead poisoning. We all can work together to prevent such occurrence from repeating. Andrew A. Tran has been practicing dentistry in the Santa Clarita Valley for eight years.
For more information, please call 661-799-7912 or email andrewtran@vividsmiledental.com .