Microprobe analysis of teeth by synchrotron radiation: environmental contamination

An X-ray fluorescence set-up with microprobe capabilities, installed at the Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation du Rayonnement Electromagnetique (LURE) synchrotron (France) was used for elemental determination in teeth. To evaluate the influence of living habits in dental elemental composition nine teeth collected post-mortem were analysed, five from a miner and four from a fisherman. All teeth from the fisherman were healthy. From the miner some teeth were carious and one of them was filled with metallic amalgam. Teeth were sliced under the vertical plane and each slice was scanned from the root to the enamel for elemental profile determination. The synchrotron microprobe resolution was of 100 mu m and incident photons of 18 keV energy were used. The elemental concentration values found suggest heterogeneity of the teeth material. Moreover, the distinct profiles for Mn, Sr, Br and Pb were found when teeth from the miner and from the fisherman are compared which can be associated with dietary habits and environmental influence. Higher concentrations of Mn and Sr were found for the fisherman teeth. In addition, Br was only observed in this group of teeth. Pb levels are higher for the miner teeth in particular for dentine regions. The influence of amalgam, such as, increase of Zn and Hg contents in the teeth material, is only noticed for the immediate surroundings of the treated cavity, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.