BPA and Dental Materials

BPA has been a controversial component of dental materials since the first reports of its potential toxicities in the mid-1990s [1]. Concerns for the estrogenic and other toxicities of BPA from all environmental sources have escalated over the past decade or so to the point that federal regulatory agencies have begun to address the issue. An early survey was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2003–2004 (the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey or NHANES) [2] that found detectable levels of BPA in 93 % of the Americans tested. Because of that survey, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) component of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) focused efforts to evaluate research on the potential adverse effects of BPA [3]. Their findings are expressed on a 5-point scale of concern for adverse effects that includes (from lowest concern level to highest) negligible, minimal, some, concern, and serious. They reported negligible or minimal concern for almost all categories. However, they expressed “some concern for adverse effects” for the effect of BPA on brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement in 2010 stating that it shares the perspective of the NTP findings concerning the potential effects of BPA [4]. It followed up in July 2012 with a new Food Additive Regulation prohibiting the use of BPA in the production of baby bottles and sippy cups [5].