Primary teeth microhardness and lead (Pb) levels

OBJECTIVES: Lead (Pb) exposure is associated with dental caries. Whether Pb affects tooth microhardness, is unclear. Our objective was to assess whether Pb concentration is associated with microhardness. METHODS: Exfoliated primary teeth were collected from 46 volunteers. Teeth were sectioned, one half of each tooth was tested for enamel Knoop microhardness. The remaining half was digested and Pb measured using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. RESULTS: The correlations between Pb levels and microhardness were very low, and were not statistically significant at p < 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: Previous exposure to high levels of Pb was not associated with decreased tooth microhardness. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This study assessed whether Pb in deciduous teeth is associated with tooth microhardness. As this was not the case, further studies are needed to identify the mechanisms behind the association between lead exposure and tooth decay.