Assessment of nickel release from various dental appliances used routinely in pediatric dentistry

CONTEXT: The use of nickel-containing alloys in dentistry has been questioned because of the biological liabilities of nickel and the release of nickel ions from dental appliances into the oral cavity. The potential health hazards of nickel and chromium and their compounds have been the focus of attention for more than 100 years. It has established that these metals could cause hypersensitivity. AIMS: To assess the nickel release from various dental appliances used in pediatric dentistry. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: It is a in vitro study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was undertaken to analyze in vitro biodegradation of space maintainers and stainless steel crowns made out of stainless steel materials from different manufacturers. The leaching effect simulating the use of clinical practice was studied by keeping the respective number of Stainless Steel Crowns and space maintainers in the artificial saliva incubating at 37°C and analyzing for nickel release after 1,7,14,21 and 28 days using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The results were statistically analyzed by using One way ANOVA and repeated measures of ANOVA was applied at different time intervals i.e. 1,7,14,21,28 days. The critical value for statistical significance was set at P = 0.05. RESULTS: Results showed that there was measurable release of nickel which reached maximum level at the end of 7 days which was statistically significant (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The release of nickel and chromium very much below when compared with the average dietary intake of nickel (200-300 ppm/day) which were not capable of causing any toxic effects.