For more than 100 years, researchers have been trying to explain how chalk teeth develop in children. Australian and Chilean researchers have now found that the body’s own protein interferes with the formation of tooth enamel. That seems to happen especially with childhood illnesses, they write in the journal “Frontiers of Physiology”.
Chalk teeth are formed when the developing enamel is contaminated with albumin – a protein found in the tissue fluid that surrounds the developing teeth. Triggers seem to be childhood diseases that lead to a kind of “mineralization blockage”, so that individual teeth get chalky stains in the tooth enamel.
“With this discovery, we are correcting a 40 year old dental dogma that blamed defective enamel cells for the chalk teeth. We have shown that albumin occasionally penetrates weak points, binds to enamel mineral crystals and blocks their growth, ”explains Prof. Mike Hubbard from the University of Melbourne. The researchers suspect that this is caused by common childhood illnesses with a fever.
Every fifth child has chalk teeth, which are noticeable by discolored tooth enamel. Experts speak of a molar incisor hypomineralization. It is an enamel disorder that makes teeth much more susceptible to tooth decay. Even if the formation of chalk teeth cannot yet be prevented, damage to the teeth can be avoided if they are recognized early. Molars are particularly vulnerable because they are harder to access, difficult to clean, and have furrows that allow food debris to accumulate. Fluoride, which protects normal tooth enamel from tooth decay, has little effect on chalk teeth.
Source: 10.3389 / fphys.2021.802833