On Feb. 27, an Ohio CBS-TV affiliate aired an investigative report about outsourcing dental lab work offshore - and the story's hook is that one of the crowns received from a Chinese lab contained lead.

The reporter worked with a local dentist to order eight crowns (porcelain and full metal) from several labs in China. One crown tested positive for lead at 210 ppm. The story went on to include information about a woman from Kent, Ohio with a partial bridge that apparently tested positive for lead at 160 ppm.

Both the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have weighed in. The CDC says trace amounts of lead at a level of 200 ppm, such as the amount the Ohio news outlet reportedly found in several dental crowns, are "extremely unlikely to cause adverse health effects". 

The CDC also states that given the current information at hand, they do not recommend individuals defer needed dental treatment or have existing dental crowns, bridges or other prostheses removed.

According to the CDC's response, "Many consumer products contain lead in trace amounts and federal regulations limit the amount of lead in consumer products" based on "the way the body absorbs lead, the potential hazard, and the lead level product manufacturers can achieve using good manufacturing practices..."

The American Dental Association is testing both foreign- and domestic-made dental crowns to determine:

• The degree to which lead may be present;
• Where the lead may be located (i.e., in the metal alloy, the porcelain, etc.); and
• How much, if any, lead may be released from dental crowns. 

• ADA press statement

Resources for dental professionals

Product danger and contamination stories are big in the media these days, so it's important dental professionals be armed with the facts.

WDA member dentists can click here to get professional, scientific tools and resources to help educate your patients (member log-in required).