Asbestos in Dental Molds
Concerned that your exposure to asbestos in dental molds could lead to asbestos-related diseases such as
asbestosis, pleural plaques and
mesothelioma cancer? Learn more below.
What are dental molds?
Dentists had been searching for years for a molding technique that would eliminate the shrinkage and distortion problems inherent in the old plaster of Paris and gold castings. Cristobalite investment was invented in 1929 and refined in 1940 to solve the distortion problems. While cristobalite investment did indeed solve the dental mold distortion problem, it introduced a deadly new hazard to the dentists who crafted them. White asbestos (chrysotile) was introduced as a lining material for casting rings in 1930.
In manipulating the asbestos linings of dental molds, dentists could easily release deadly airborne asbestos fibers. Inhaling asbestos fibers has been linked to numerous asbestos related diseases, including pleural plaques, asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma. If you worked as a dentist from the 1940s to the 1970s, you may have been exposed to asbestos.
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How asbestos can cause mesothelioma and other illnesses
Asbestos is the general term for a group of different naturally occurring fibrous forms of several mineral silicates. These silicates grow in crystal structures of billions of microscopic fibers that are so light they can remain suspended in the air for hours or even days. Asbestos is literally a rock, which makes it fireproof, waterproof, and corrosion-proof. Pliable asbestos fibers can be woven into cloths or added to compounds such as adhesives, mastics, cements, tile, and more to increase the tensile strength of the compound.
Manufacturers discovered that the “magic mineral” asbestos could be used for thousands of products and applications – everything from boiler insulation to cigarette filters. But the very qualities that make asbestos so useful also cause it to be extremely deadly. Spear-like asbestos fibers break off easily, and can be inhaled by the thousands in each breath. While many inhaled fibers will make their way out of the body, some can become embedded in the mesothelium, the delicate wall of cells that line many of the body’s internal organs.
Asbestos exposure has been linked definitively to several types of cancer and other asbestos related diseases. Mesothelioma, or more correctly, malignant mesothelioma, is a rare but deadly form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure that affects the lungs, heart, or stomach. Asbestos also causes asbestosis, a serious and progressive disease caused by asbestos fibers scarring the lungs and eventually cutting off oxygen supply to the victim. Asbestosis and mesothelioma cancer can lie dormant for many years and decades after the asbestos exposure, suddenly “flowering” without any warning.
Asbestos can also cause lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the world. Many experts believe that the number of asbestos victims worldwide has been vastly underestimated, with the cause of death often listed on the death certificate as heart attack, lung cancer, kidney failure, instead of asbestos related disease. If you have been exposed to asbestos, it is critical that you learn about the symptoms of asbestos related diseases immediately.
Exposed to asbestos? Contact a mesothelioma lawyer today
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any other asbestos-related disease from workplace or home exposure to asbestos, contact an experienced mesothelioma lawyer immediately. Mesothelioma attorneys have helped thousands of mesothelioma patients win compensation for lost wages.