Dental News - Dentists' irritant named Allergen of the Year

Daniel Zimmermann, DTI

Thu. 22 March 2012

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SAN DIEGO, Calif., USA: A chemical compound associated with allergies in dental professionals has been announced Allergen of the Year by the American Contact Dermatitis Society in San Diego. The organization chose acrylate, a polymer derived from acrylic acid, for the dubious title owing to its widespread occurrence in human environments and frequent reports on its irritant effects during manufacturing processes like denture making.

In addition to its use in dental primers, bonding agents and cements, different forms of acrylate can be found in paint, orthopedic bone cement and artificial nails, among other products.

Its allergenic potential was first reported in the early 1970s.

Dr Donald V. Belsito, former American Contact Dermatitis Society president and professor of Clinical Dermatology at Columbia University in New York, told reporters in San Diego that public exposure to acrylate is very low compared with exposure among orthopedic surgeons, dentists and manicurists. He said that those working in these professions should be aware of the hazards it poses and seek to limit routine exposure to this compound.

By testing dentists, dental nurses and technicians in 2007, researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki found that many had developed contact allergies that could be traced back to two main forms of acrylate: 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate used in dental adhesives and methyl methacrylate, which is found in high concentration in dental labs.

Similar results were reported by a clinical team at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Academy in Gothenburg in Sweden a few years ago.

Since the polymer can penetrate latex, vinyl gloves and even face masks through acrylate monomer vapor, dermatologists recommend that dentists use vitrile or 4H gloves as initial protection. Inside dental labs, local exhaust ventilation systems have demonstrated the potential to decrease the level of acrylate vapor in the working space of dental technicians significantly.

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