Abstract
We report the presence of methyl mercury from the analysis of three samples of restorations associated with dental amalgam. We believe this to be the first finding of methyl mercury in the human mouth. Although the amounts found are small (4.0, 5.3 and 37.3 ng per sample), any measurable amount of methyl mercury contributes to the total body's burden of mercury. Despite the long history of apparent safe use of dental amalgams, this finding obviously warrants further investigation and confirmation. A possible mechanism to explain the formation and distribution of methyl mercury from dental amalgams is proposed.
Key Words: