Some endocrine disruptors have already been associated with an alteration in the quality of tooth enamel. After showing the deleterious effects of bisphenol A on tooth development, Sylvie Babajko's team, in collaboration with researchers from the CNRS (Sakina Mhaouty-Kodja's team), Inserm and Université Paris Cité, within the Cordeliers Research Center in Paris, in collaboration with the CNRS1, has now looked at the effects of DEHP, an endocrine disruptor from the phthalate family, on tooth development. 

The use of DEHP is highly regulated but it is still found in food containers and some medical devices such as neonatal intensive care unit equipment. The scientists showed that the teeth of mice exposed daily to low doses of this substance, in the window of environmental exposure, show defects whose intensity and prevalence depend on the dose of exposure and the sex of the animal, males being more likely to develop dental alterations than females. 

This finding confirms the interest of considering dental enamel defects as an early marker of exposure to environmental toxins. 

This study is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.