An X-ray fluorescence set-up with microprobe capabilities, installed at the
Laboratoire pour l'Utilisation du Rayonnement Electromagnetique (LURE) syn
chrotron (France) was used for elemental determination in teeth. To evaluat
e the influence of living habits in dental elemental composition nine teeth
collected post-mortem were analysed, five from a miner and four from a fis
herman. All teeth from the fisherman were healthy. From the miner some teet
h were carious and one of them was filled with metallic amalgam. Teeth were
sliced under the vertical plane and each slice was scanned from the root t
o the enamel for elemental profile determination. The synchrotron microprob
e resolution was of 100 mu m and incident photons of 18 keV energy were use
d. The elemental concentration values found suggest heterogeneity of the te
eth material. Moreover, the distinct profiles for Mn, Sr, Br and Pb were fo
und when teeth from the miner and from the fisherman are compared which can
be associated with dietary habits and environmental influence. Higher conc
entrations of Mn and Sr were found for the fisherman teeth. In addition, Br
was only observed in this group of teeth. Pb levels are higher for the min
er teeth in particular for dentine regions. The influence of amalgam, such
as, increase of Zn and Hg contents in the teeth material, is only noticed f
or the immediate surroundings of the treated cavity, (C) 1999 Elsevier Scie
nce B.V. All rights reserved.