Time Magazine's Lead and Tooth Decay

[Guest guest]

http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/daily/0,2960,27285-101990623,00.html

Chew on This: Lead Doesn't Just Rot Brains

A study links lead poisoning to tooth decay. Could vitamin C be an antidote?

To the many detrimental consequences of lead poisoning (the most serious of

which is brain damage), add one more: tooth decay. A new study published in

Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that

children with higher levels of lead in their blood risk having more problems

with tooth decay. About a million youngsters in the U.S. have high lead

levels in their blood, and the study suggests that the poison could be

responsible for as many as 11 percent of cavities in children nationwide.

" The study illuminates the fact that lead is a systematic problem, " says

TIME health reporter Janice Horowitz. " Once ingested, it goes to many parts

of the body. "

Scientists are not sure why lead apparently causes tooth decay, but one

theory is that " it may alter saliva, the best mouth cleanser and cavity

fighter there is, " says Horowitz. Scientists are also not sure about the

full implications of another lead study reported in the same AMA journal.

This second study found that people with more vitamin C in their blood had

lower levels of lead. Scientists are not ready to certify vitamin C as a

lead antidote -- more study is needed -- but kids should be eating vitamin

C-packed foods anyhow, says Horowitz. " Parents worried about their children’

s exposure to lead now have one more reason to encourage them to eat foods

like citrus fruits, " she adds.

-- ALAIN L. SANDERS

http://wire.ap.org/APnews/main.html?FRONTID=SCIENCE & STORYID=APIS6TNVV180

Lead Exposure May Speed Tooth Decay

June 22, 1999

By MARTHA IRVINE

Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — Exposure to lead, which is known to cause mental problems and

paralysis, may also contribute to cavities.

``It kind of changes the way we think about tooth decay,'' said Dr. Mark

Moss, a dentistry professor at the University of Rochester School of

Medicine and Dentistry and author of a study in Wednesday's Journal of the

American Medical Association.

The finding may explain why poor children are more likely to have tooth

decay — older, rundown homes often have peeling lead paint.

``Right now we're in the `blame the victim' mode, as if people are bad

parents if they don't take care of their children's teeth,'' Moss said.

``But this shows there may be other factors.''

Moss and his colleagues studied data from health exams and blood tests on

24,901 patients who participated in a government health survey. The

information was from 1988 to 1994 and focused on children 5 to 17.

The researchers adjusted statistically for such things as income, diet and

frequency of dental visits.

When the children were divided into three groups according to their lead

exposure — high, medium and low — the researchers found that nearly 14

percent of tooth decay in children in the highest-level group and 10 percent

in the medium-level group could be attributed to lead.

Dr. Jim Crall, who heads the University of Connecticut's pediatric dentistry

department, called the findings interesting but far from definitive.

``What I draw from the article is that this is, in fact, one more reason to

try to minimize lead exposure in children,'' Crall said.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 57

million private homes in the United States have at least some lead paint,

and paint chips are a common source of lead exposure.

Moss said the next step is to understand just how lead might promote tooth

decay, something his research did not examine. It is possible, he said, that

lead affects salivary gland development.

In a 1997 study that found that baby rats exposed to lead had more tooth

decay, the rats had lower production of saliva, which helps clean the teeth.