Cytogenetic Biomonitoring of Dental Technicians: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose This is a cross‐sectional study to assess the incidence of micronuclei and other nuclear morphological changes in buccal epithelial cells of dental technicians. Materials and Methods The study was conducted on 45 dental technicians versus 2 control groups: 50 dentists and 50 dental assistants. DNA damage was analyzed in exfoliated buccal mucosa cells by micronucleus assay. The differences in the frequency of detected types of cytogenetic damage between experimental groups were analyzed by applying 2‐way ANOVA with Tukey's HSD post‐hoc test. Results Dentists and dental assistants have significantly lower incidence of micronucleated cells than technicians (mean ± SD: 0.68 ± 0.74, 0.58 ± 0.81, and 1.58 ± 2.07; p = 0.031 and p = 0.015, respectively), and this trend also holds for karyolitic cells (0.10 ± 0.30, 0.20 ± 0.49, and 1.42 ± 1.25; p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively), condensed chromatin (0.16 ± 0.37, 0.14 ± 0.35, and 0.76 ± 0.98; p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively), and pyknotic cells (0.04 ± 0.20, 0.08 ± 0.27, and 0.96 ± 1.24; p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion Cytogenetic biomarkers in dental technician buccal mucosa are increased compared with control groups. This increase may be associated with more extensive exposure to potentially harmful components of the materials used in everyday dental practice.

Use of liquid-based cytology samples reveals genomic instability and cell death in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment

“…Epithelial cells are the first line of defense for the oral mucosa and thus may be the first to show genotoxic damage [2]. The micronucleus test (MN) using cells exfoliated from the oral epithelium is a method widely used to assess damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), genotoxicity and genomic instability, and various nuclear abnormalities serve as biomarkers of alterations in cytokinesis or cell death, facilitating assessment of the biocompatibility of specific materials and any pathologic conditions that may arise [3][4][5]. It has recently been recognized that metals used in orthodontic appliances may exert toxic effects on cells through direct and prolonged contact with oral tissues and metal corrosion [6].…”

Diş Laboratuvarı Teknisyenlerinde IL-1Ra ve IL-4 Geni VNTR Polimorfizmlerinin Analizi: Genotip-Fenotip Çalışması

“…Previous experimental and epidemiological research has shown the latent health risks of metal, acrylic and ceramic powder. (Choël, Grosgogeat, Bourgeois, & Descotes, 1999;Hariyani, Berniyanti, & Setyowati, 2015;Tadin et al, 2019). Besides, studies show that fine particle-sized dust (5µm and below) is spread into the working environment during the dental prosthesis production process (Arsal Yıldırım & Pekey, 2018;Hu et al, 2006).…”