A growing number of Australians are having their mouths filled with cheap and potentially toxic dental prosthetics from unregulated overseas laboratories, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Lead, nickel, cadmium, and beryllium are being added to ceramic-covered prosthetics by manufacturers in many Asian countries, Robert Boshier, president of Oral Health Professionals Association's College of Dental Technicians, told the Herald.
Australian dentists are increasingly turning to less expensive imports because of the economic downturn, according to the story. A single crown costing a patient about $1,300 can be manufactured in China for about $25, then sold to the dentist for between $100 and $250.
Some dentists reportedly have been buying products on foreign Web sites, which enables them to bypass import laws, according to the Herald.
Neil Hewson, president of the Australian Dental Association (ADA), told the Herald that the association had been aware of some dentists engaged in illegal importation in the past, but "they must obey the law."
But Duncan Campbell, executive officer of the Australian Dental Industry Association, noted that the ADA's publication, the Australian Dental Journal, regularly carried advertisements from foreign dental supply companies.
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