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Inserm presents
Teeth against Bisphenol
Sylvie BABAJKO, Biologist
I am a biologist.
I work on the integrated physiology of teeth, and more broadly,
the mineralised tissue-bone and teeth-and conditions that may affect these organs.
This story began as part of a national research programme on endocrine disruptors.
These researchers noticed that rats had abnormalities in their teeth.
We observed that 75% of rats exposed to bisphenol A showed white stains on their incisors.
These white stains made us think of problems of hypomineralisation of enamel,
very similar to a condition recently described in humans,
known as MIH, or Molar Incisor Hypomineralisation.
This condition, the cause of which is currently unknown,
affects approximately 18% of children aged from 6 to 9 years.
The enamel of the teeth thus affected is of poor quality and prone to caries,
and the teeth are liable to become very painful.
We compared the two types of teeth
by carrying out a structural analysis using electron microscopy,
and showed that once again the similarities were striking.
We then continued with a histological and biochemical analysis.
Finally, we finished our study by doing a genetic analysis,
showing that expression of two important genes involved in enamel formation
was affected by bisphenol A.
We effectively showed for the first time that bisphenol A had a potential impact on teeth.
And this is a fortuitous discovery,
since no-one had previously wondered whether bisphenol A could target this organ.
And, given the low bisphenol doses we used,
and the similarities that exist between the two types of teeth,
we suspect that bisphenol may act in the same way in humans.