Evaluation of the Concentration of Copper and Zinc Elements in Children Deciduous Teeth of Birjand City (Iran) in 2010.

Introduction: Human teeth are valuable indicators of the capacity of metals in the body. The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of zinc and copper in different teeth types in 5-12 year old children population living in the city of Birjand. Materials & Methods: Teeth samples were collected from dental clinics and prepared for analysis using acid digestion. Samples were analyzed for Zn and Cu concentrations by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Kolmogorov Smirnov was used for normal data, One Way ANOVA was used for comparison among teeth groups and t-test for comparison between sexes (P<0.05). Results: Based on the results of this study, the mean concentrations of copper and zinc in tooth samples were 8.44±4.22 mg/kg and 218.14±94.81 mg/kg, respectively. The results also showed that copper levels were significantly higher in the teeth of boys compared to that of girls, while a significant difference in zinc level between the teeth of the boys and girls was not found. The concentrations of copper and zinc were statistically different depending on the type of teeth. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that teeth are valuable bio- indicators. All samples had a zinc concentration up 90 mg/kg, indicating that children consumed sufficient zinc. Also, incisor teeth had the highest content of copper compared to the other teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]