Mercury in primary teeth in preindustrial Norway

Abstract

Seventy-nine primary (deciduous) teeth were excavated in 1978 underneath the floor of the stave church in Uvdal, Buskerud County, Norway. The mercury content of 57 teeth was measured by means of cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. As a comparison, 124 primary teeth from modern Norway were analyzed. A significant statistical difference was found between the two sets of material. In the Uvdal material a correlation was found between the mercury and copper contents. For the modern material a correlation was found between mercury and lead, and between mercury and zinc. The authors maintain that the values found for the Uvdal material represent base-line values for mercury in primary teeth, and probably reflect uptake from natural environmental sources only. Furthermore, these values may be used for reference in studies of other preindustrial, as well as modern, primary teeth. Our findings also indicate a higher level of mercury in modern than in preindustrial primary teeth in Norway.