The main purpose of this study was to identify the concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) and some metals (Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) in tooth samples collected from humans living in the Rize province of Turkey. It was found that the activity concentrations ranged from 8.1 to 114.51 Bq kg-1 for 226Ra, from 10.44 to 97.3 Bq kg-1 for 232Th and from 14.53 to 489.27 Bq kg-1 for 40K. The mean activity concentration values of 226Ra and 232Th in tooth samples were higher than the average world values for bones. Furthermore, when the metal concentrations were examined, there was no regular increase or decrease according to age or sex. The results of the metal analysis on the tooth samples were compared with the results of similar studies and were generally found to be consistent.
Keywords: Natural radioactivity; Rize Province; heavy metal; human tooth.