[Composition and properties of calculus under specific and job-specific viewpoints].

Resulting from phase-analytical and chemical examinations there are characteristically habitual differences in the consistency of dental calculus. Very obvious are sex (gender) specific and job specific differences concerning the contents of heavy metals like lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc. Characteristics concerning the quantity, consistency and temper of dental calculus as well as the peal-homogeneous value (pH-value) of the saliva are obvious with miners working in salt-mines.

Structure and composition of sialoliths.

Salivary calculi consist of a concentrically arranged, heterogeneous mixture of different phosphates of calcium, together with an inorganic matrix. The different crystalline phases are: hydroxyl- and carbonate-apatite, whitlockite and calcium octaphosphate. Investigation of 50 cases of sialothiasis (salivary gland disease) revealed characteristic sex-dependent differences in the uptake of toxic heavy metals by salivary calculi.

Determination of chromium in saliva.

A method is described for the analysis of chromium in saliva by atomic absorption spectrometry. Cr was determined by using the Zeeman background correction, and with optimization of all the conditions of the Stabilized Temperature Platform Furnace (STPF). The low detection limit and the ability to analyse very small sample volumes make this technique especially suitable for epidemiological surveys.