An investigation into asbestos related disease in the dental industry

Our plain-English summary of An investigation into asbestos related disease in the dental industry, by C. Fry (British Dental Journal, 2009).

The study

• Author: C. Fry
• Journal: British Dental Journal
• Published: 2009;206(10):515-6
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

This article discusses the dangers of the asbestos-based disease mesothelioma and the possible origins of this form of cancer in dental professionals. The potential for an increase in diagnosed cases of mesothelioma among dentists and technicians in future is highlighted.

In plain English

This was an opinion article, not a research study, written by an author who specialises in occupational illness claims. The author looked back at earlier writings on asbestos and mesothelioma in dental work and collected no new data. The author described a 2007 obituary of Mr Richard Bourne, who died on 28 September 2007 of mesothelioma. The author then summarised older papers. A 1967 paper warned that mixing asbestos-containing gingivectomy packs at the chairside could expose the dentist and the patient. A 1976 paper reported that one American company's periodontal dressing powders contained 14.29% asbestos by weight. In April 1976 the American Dental Association Council on Dental Therapeutics stopped accepting these products. A 1991 Lancet report described a 60-year-old retired dentist with mesothelioma. The report also said that in 1971 one of its authors saw mesothelioma in a dental technician and assumed it may have been caused by dust from dry rolls of asbestos paper. Because symptoms can take 35 to 40 years to appear, the author suggested that many dentists, dental assistants and technicians may become ill now.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Opinion article (narrative discussion of earlier papers, letters and an obituary) by an author who specialises in occupational illness claims; no original data
• Who was studied: No population was studied; the article discusses dental professionals (dentists, dental assistants and technicians) as a group possibly exposed to asbestos
• Exposure: Asbestos in periodontal (gingivectomy) dressing powders mixed at the chairside, and asbestos paper or rolls used in casting dentures
• Main results:
  • The author reported an obituary stating that Mr Richard Bourne died of mesothelioma after a two-year illness; his only known asbestos exposure was from the tunnels of University College Hospital, London
  • According to the author, a 1967 paper by Dyer stated that mixing asbestos at the chairside could expose both the dentist and the patient to harmful doses of asbestos
  • According to the author, a 1976 paper by Bakdash and Frydman reported that periodontal dressing powders from The Periodontal Pack Corp of America contained 14.29% asbestos by weight
  • In April 1976 the American Dental Association Council on Dental Therapeutics decided to no longer accept these products. It also stated that there was no apparent inhalation danger to patients.
  • According to the author, a 1991 Lancet report described the death from mesothelioma of a 60-year-old retired dentist. The implied exposure was asbestos in periodontal dressings, and possibly in paper and powder used for making prostheses.
  • According to the author, the 1991 report stated that in 1971 one of its authors saw mesothelioma in a dental technician and assumed it may have been caused by dust from dry rolls of asbestos paper
  • According to the author, the 1991 report stated that undergraduates at dental schools commonly cast a minimum of 40 sets of dentures
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that, given a 35 to 40 year delay before symptoms appear, many dentists, dental assistants and technicians may now become symptomatic with respiratory problems that may be attributable to past use of these powders and rolls
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The author noted that the 1991 Lancet report's implication that the dentist was exposed through periodontal dressings was not apparently confirmed

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Malignant mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos in dental practice — A.S. Reid, B.E. Causton, et al. (1991)
• Malignant mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure in dental tape — S.B. Markowitz, J.M. Moline (2017)
• Effects of Chrysotile Exposure in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells: Insights into the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Asbestos-Related Diseases — G.R. Gulino, M. Polimeni, et al. (2016)
• IgG4-Related Lung Disease Exhibiting the Invasion into the Diaphragm: A Case Report — Y. Ono, G. Toyokawa, et al. (2022)
• Asbestos-related disease in the jewelry industry: report of two cases — D.G. Kern, H. Frumkin (1988)
• Double standards: the multinational asbestos industry and asbestos-related disease in South Africa — J. McCulloch, G. Tweedale (2004)

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