Exposure to certain endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol A has been linked to a pathology of tooth enamel, called “hypomineralization of molars and incisors” (MIH), a disease found in approximately 15% of children. from 6 to 8 years old. But other substances are subject to monitoring, as is the case for DEHP, another endocrine disruptor which, despite regulations and bans, can still be present in many medical devices and in particular equipment in medical units. neonatal intensive care. DEHP belongs to the family of phthalates, chemical compounds commonly used as a plastic softener.
Given the potential contamination by DEHP of children whose teeth are forming, and based on previous data on the effects of certain endocrine disruptors on enamel, researchers from Inserm, from Paris Cité University and Sorbonne University, within the Cordeliers Research Center, in collaboration with the CNRS, wanted to explore the potential effects of DEHP.
In a study carried out on mice, whose teeth have the particularity of being in continuous growth, and which represent the ideal experimental model for the study of teeth in development, the researchers show that after 12 weeks of exposure daily with DEHP (at very low or higher doses), defects were identified on the incisors of rodents.
Less mineralized and less hard (like children’s teeth), the teeth of the exposed mice reflected an alteration in the quality of the enamel, which was all the more significant as the level of exposure to DEHP was high. Another particularity of the study, the scientists compared the impact of exposure according to the sex of the animal and observed a greater susceptibility in males.
“DEHP therefore disrupted enamel development in mice by acting directly on dental cells with a higher prevalence and severity in males than in females,” the researchers point out. For the research team, the next step is now to understand the effects of combinations of different classes of molecules – or “cocktail effects” – on dental health during the perinatal period and during the first years of life after birth.
Read also :
- Milk teeth: why take care of them since they will fall out?
- 10 misconceptions about dental care
- 9 foods other than candy that promote cavities