Children’s bad teeth could be linked to lack of vitamin D in pregnancy

Tooth enamel is the body’s hardest substance, but some children have tooth enamel that is far from hard enough.

A study in the British Dental Journal reports that up to one in six children globally is affected.

Weak enamel is often discovered when the baby teeth fall out, and the adult teeth start to erupt. The weak enamel can appear as white and yellow-brown spots on molars and incisors in some children. In others, the teeth might be partly brown, with a rough surface. Some children are especially seriously affected and develop weak enamel on many teeth.

“It’s complicated to find treatment for these children. The fillings adhere less well and often fall out. Some children have to have their adult molars pulled at a young age because their teeth are in such bad shape,” says Torunn Børsting, a PhD candidate at NTNU and project coordinator at the Dental Services Competence Center in Central Norway (TkMN).