A study out of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston suggests that the thickness of growth lines in primary teeth provide evidence of early exposure to sources of physical stress such as poor nutrition or disease, which may place those children at increased risk of depression and other mental health disorders later in life.
As reported in the Dental Tribune researchers hope that the results of the study will “help in developing a tool for identifying children who have been exposed to difficulties early in life—a risk factor for psychological illness—offering support and preventive treatments if necessary.”
Previous studies indicated that the mother’s experience of prenatal and perinatal psychosocial distress can affect both their long-term mental health but also that of their child who might develop “lifelong physiological and neurobiological disorders.”
Often researchers had to rely on maternal self-reporting, which is routinely subjective, so the Massachusetts General Hospital sought to come up with a more objective way assess risk factors, settling on one particular dental method.
“… researchers were in need of novel and objective measuring instruments and assumed that primary teeth would be suitable, as the exposure to sources of physical stress, such as poor nutrition or disease, can affect the formation of dental enamel, resulting in pronounced growth lines. These lines may vary, based on the environment and experiences of the child before birth and shortly after; thicker lines indicate elevated stressful life conditions.”
Senior study author Dr Erin C. Dunn, who is from the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit at the Center for Genomic Medicine at MGH, says she hopes the results of this study, if the same outcomes resulting from a larger body of research, may have some beneficial long-term implications.
“Then we can connect those kids to interventions so we can prevent the onset of mental health disorders, and do that as early on in the lifespan as we possibly can.”
For the full report, go to “Growth lines of primary teeth may help evaluate risk of developing mental disorders”
