RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SERIAL BLOOD LEAD LEVELS AND EXFOLIATED TOOTH DENTIN LEAD LEVELS - MODELS OF TOOTH LEAD KINETICS

Because bones and permanent teeth accumulate lead, exfoliated deciduou s teeth have been utilized as retrospective markers of cumulative expo sure in epidemiological surveys. In this paper we describe four models of lead uptake by the coronal dentin of shed primary teeth, each with different assumptions and ramifications. Each model is characterized by different relationships between blood lead at several ages and toot h lead. Values observed in our cohort of normal Boston children are mo st compatible with models positing the largest lead contribution comin g at older ages (i.e., closer to age at exfoliation). Characteristics of models incompatible with our data include (1) lead deposition only during initial calcification and (2) no loss or resorption of lead.