Aim
This study aimed to investigate whether non-ionizing radiation emitted by smartphones is likely to cause genotoxic effects on oral epithelial cells.
Methods
Thirty adults were distributed into two groups according to the mobile phone brand used, namely Samsung (Samsung, Seoul, South Korea) and Apple (Apple, California, USA). The material was collected with gentle swabbing of the right and left buccal mucosa using a cervical brush, then the micronucleus test was performed.
Results
The Mann-Whitney test with a 5% significance level did not reveal statistically significant differences in micronuclei frequency between the exposed and non-exposed sides (p=0.251). The different brands do not seem to cause risks of inducing genetic damage because there were no statistically significant differences between them (p=0.47).
Conclusion
Therefore, our results suggest no correlations of micronuclei frequency in the exposed buccal cells of mobile phone users at the exposure standard levels observed.
Radio waves; Micronucleus tests; Mutagenicity tests
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