RESUMO
This in vitro study assessed the amount of mercury (Hg) released from a silver amalgam alloy following the application of different 10% carbamide peroxide bleaching agents. A total of 30 specimens (2 mm thick x 4 mm in diameter) were stored in deionized water at 37°C for 7 days. Next, the control group (n = 10) remained in the deionized water for 15 days, while the remaining samples were exposed to 1 of 2 bleaching agents (n = 10) for 8 hours daily (total exposure = 120 hours); for the remaining 16 hours, specimens in the test groups were stored in deionized water at 37°C under relative humidity. After this period, the quantity of Hg in the deionized water was assessed (using atomic absorption spectrophotometry) and compared to the amount of Hg at baseline. The results indicate that exposing amalgam alloys to bleaching agents released greater amounts of Hg compared to exposing samples to deionized [corrected] water.