Abstract—The paper aims the evaluation and discussion of behavior of natural temporary teeth from groups of children living in regions with various pollution areas regarding the level of heavy metals. The small amounts of very aggressive metals such as Cd and Pb detected in the groups of teeth by using an ELAN DRC-e induced plasma coupled spectrophotometer (ICP-MS) have been correlated with surface aspects discussed based on confocal microscopy and wettability. The correlations sustain the idea that the teeth from high pollution areas exhibit higher roughness and many holes, being in fact more degraded. A statistical treatment according to ANOVA test completed this study.

Index Terms—temporary teeth, heavy metals, surface analysis, ICP-MS, confocal microscopy.

M. Prodana, A. Meghea, G. Stanciu, R. Hristu and I. Demetrescu: University Politehnica Bucharest, Romania

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Cite: M. Prodana, A. Meghea, G. Stanciu, R. Hristu and I. Demetrescu, "Aspects of correlation between the surface analysis and heavy metal content in temporary teeth from areas with various pollution levels of Romania," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 47-52, 2010.