Enamel defects cause premature death

Scientists are suggesting that defects that occur in your tooth enamel could cause premature death.

These defects can develop while a child is in the womb or at a very young age and experts are now encouraging parents to take their children to a dentist regularly from an early age.

George Armelagos, an anthropologist from the US’s Emory University, Atlanta, said that evidence from prehistoric remains strongly suggests that those who suffer enamel defects from a young age tend to die earlier.

He called teeth a “snapshot into the past" and said this research backed the well-known Barker Hypothesis, which argues that many fatal adult illnesses can have originated in early life.

Armelagos said that tooth enamel was a good measure for the Barker Hypothesis as it paints an accurate portrait of physiological life events from the time it is first secreted in the second trimester of foetal development.

Disruptions in enamel, which appear as marks on the tooth’s surface, can be caused by poor diet, psychological stress or disease.

08 February 2010

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Enamel defects cause premature death

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