Environmental implications of dental restorative materials on the zebrafish Danio rerio: Are dental chair drainage systems an emerging environmental threat?

This study aimed to evaluate the environmental impact of dental materials: commercial composite Tetric EvoCeram®, glass ionomer Equia Forte® HT Fil, laboratory-prepared composite, alkasite Cention® Forte, amalgam Amalcap® Plus, and samples from dental chair drainage systems (DCDS). Methacrylate monomers were detected in the eluates of experimental and commercials composites, and alkasite. In DCDS samples solely mercury was found at concentrations of 0.08–1.86 μg/L. The experimental composite (48 h incubation) exhibited the highest toxicity on zebrafish Danio rerio (LC₅₀=0.70 g/L), followed by amalgam (LC₅₀=8.27 g/L) < Tetric EvoCeram® (LC₅₀=10.94 g/L) < Equia Forte® HT Fil (LC₅₀=24.84 g/L) < Cention® Forte (LC₅₀=32.22 g/L). Exposure of zebrafish to DCDS samples resulted in decreased larval body length and increased occurrences of edema and blood accumulation. The results obtained highlight the need for additional monitoring and further research on the release of unreacted monomers and mercury from dental materials and their environmental impact.