Study of P, Ca, Sr, Ba and Pb Levels in Enamel and Dentine of Human Third Molars for Environmental and Archaeological Research

Abstract

Elemental determination of 80 third molars, collected from local dental clinics in Hsinchu City, Taiwan during 2009 to 2010, was conducted using inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results show that the mean concentrations of P, Ca, Sr, Ba and Pb in enamel are respectively 14.63% ± 2.19%, 27.91% ± 4.03%, 108.31 ± 35.71 ppm, 1.96 ± 1.01 ppm, and 0.72 ± 0.49 ppm. The concentrations of P, Ca and Sr are higher in enamel than in dentine, on the other hand, the concentrations of Ba and Pb are higher in dentine than in enamel. In enamel and dentine the concentrations of P, Ca and Ca/P ratio are kept constant. In enamelthe concentrations of Sr and Sr/Ca increase by age statistically but the concentrations of Ba and Ba/Ca are not. Pb concentrations in both enamel and dentine increase by age and also increase with significant differences among each birth era. This may indicate the dates of environmental exposure. The levels of Pb in this study are lower than the previous published findings before 1979. The concentrations and distribution of elements in enamel and dentine of third molars other than deciduous or permanent teeth can provide reliable base references to past and future studies.