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After toxic toys, now toxic dental work?
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Wed, Mar 05, 2008
The Straits Times
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COLUMBUS (OHIO) - DENTAL patients in the US are being asked to inquire about the origins of their crowns, veneers, bridges and dentures after a woman fell ill because of lead-tainted dental work outsourced to China.
Toxic levels of lead were found in the dental work of the 73-year-old woman from Ohio, whose crown was made in China.
The American Dental Association (ADA) is investigating the case, which was reported last week by an Ohio television station.
The ADA has urged the US government to investigate the case and to determine whether it is isolated or indicative of a wider trend.
| The new scare rekindles memories of lead-contaminated products from China last year, such as toys with lead paint that exceeded the levels considered safe for children.
Millions of dental prostheses prescribed by dentists in the United States are made in laboratories in China, India, the Philippines, Mexico, eastern Europe, Costa Rica and elsewhere.
With global overnight shipping, the appliances are ready in about the same amount of time they would have taken if made locally. They are also significantly cheaper.
On Long Island, New York, dental laboratory owners Leslie and Terry Cloper say they charge dentists US$128 (S$178) for a single crown fused to a metal base.
But laboratories in China will do the work for just US$29.
The US National Association of Dental Laboratories (NADL) estimates that between 15 and 20per cent of all restoration work is outsourced - and patients are unaware of this.
'These labs have to register with the FDA and they are supposed to use FDA-approved materials,' NADL co-executive director Bennett Napier said, referring to the Food and Drug Administration.
'But the FDA is inspecting less than 1per cent of the restorations that are coming in from foreign dental laboratories.'
US dental officials have tried to damp down concern.
'The ADA is taking this report very seriously. However, we do want to keep it in perspective,' said a spokesman. 'There simply isn't enough information available to presume that the presence of lead in dental crowns or other prostheses is widespread.'
LOS ANGELES TIMES-WASHINGTON POST
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