Electrical activity in dental amalgam of submerged divers during welding

Abstract

Divers performing underwater manual metal arc welding/cutting (UMMA) have complained about a metallic taste phenomenon. In several dives with voluntary leakage in their diving suits, potential alterations in dental amalgam were registered when they performed UMMA. Polarization resistance values were obtained for the test amalgam cylinders used and the diver's dental restorations. These values, along with the recorded potential values of the amalgam test cylinders and of the diver's dental restorations, enabled us to calculate the depolarizing current, using the law of Ohm. The current depolarizing the amalgam test cylinder did not differ significantly from the mean intermetallic currents between the dental restorations. The clinical effect of intraoral currents when performing UMMA welding should be regarded as small, whereas considerably higher currents should not be ruled out in an intense cutting situation.