Determination of the Alpha Flux from Dental Prostheses

Abstract

For over fifty years manufacturers of dental prostheses have been adding uranium compounds to porcelains in an attempt to simulate the fluorescence properties of natural teeth. This paper presents preliminary results of work being carried out at the University of Manitoba aimed at measuring any radiation which may be emitted from the surface of a prosthesis. The measurement system and technique are described along with the study of problems related to background in such a low count rate experiment. The results obtained to this point for alpha particles show a low but statistically significant count rate which might represent a health hazard in the long term.