Dental materials are composed of several metals. During dental procedures, these metals are released as particulate or vapor form in the dental environment. The excess of these metals in the human body may cause chronic or acute adverse effects. New technologies for hair analysis have been used to investigate metal absorption. However, no studies have investigated trace metal elements in the hair of students exposed to the dental environment during dental school programs. First, this thesis evaluated the metal distribution in hair cross-section and developed the Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) technique for single hair analysis. Second, investigated trace metal elements in the hair of dental students during four years of dental school. The final chapter assessed the efficiency of standard barriers against mercury vapor during mixing, condensation and removal procedures with dental amalgam. Cross-section hair analysis in Back-scattered electron microscopy (BSE), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and LA-ICP-MS revealed that most metal elements investigated were more highly concentrated in the cuticle than in the cortex. The results suggest complete ablation of hair strands is an excellent alternative for multiple-segment analysis using LA-ICP-MS. Trace metal elements analysis in the hair of dental students showed an increase of Hg levels during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of dental school compared with Hg levels detected in the 1st year (control). The concentration of gaseous elemental mercury analysis revealed that the mercury vapor released in the mixing procedure of dental amalgam capsules may be reduced by 38 fold if the amalgamator is inside the fume hood turned on. However, an individual near the fume hood is not fully protected against mercury vapor during the mixing procedure of dental amalgam capsules. Finally, the Precision respirator + face shield and Advantage respirator + face shield + level-3 mask were more efficient in blocking the mercury vapor from dental amalgam condensation and removal than the other PPE set tested. In summary, work from this thesis contributed to the understanding of the risks of increased metal absorption during dental school. Furthermore, it gives new insights into preventative strategies.