Study of some Trace Elements in Sound and Carious Enamel of Primary and Permanent Teeth of Children in Benghazi City

Abstract

Back ground: Dental enamel is the hardest structures in human body that covered the anatomical crown of the tooth and it contains a large number of minor inorganic constituents and trace elements in a varying quantity. The importance of the trace elements in the prevention and reduction of dental caries has not yet been established fully although various studies had been performed to find the link between trace elements and dental caries in human teeth. Aim: Estimation of some trace elements in sound and carious enamel of primary and permanent teeth of children in Benghazi and evaluation of correlation between the presence of caries and these trace elements. Materials and Methods: The concentrations of the 18 trace elements, F, Sr, K, Al, Si, Ni, B, Fe, Cu, Mn, Co, Cr, Zn, Mg, Se, Pb, Mo, and V were estimated by ICP-MS, in a sample composed of 48 sound and caries permanent and primary teeth which were collected from patients attended to different private and governmental dental clinics in Benghazi city. The collected powder samples were divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D) with 12 samples included in each group according to the type of the teeth whether permanent or primary and the conditions of the teeth either sound or caries. Results: The study revealed that the most common trace elements detected in both sound and carious permanent teeth in this study were Sr, followed by K, F and Al while, the least observed trace elements were Mg, Cr, Co & Cu. The results also showed that the most common trace elements found in both sound and carious primary teeth were Sr, followed by K,F and B while the least observed trace elements were Mg, Cr, Co & Fe. By comparing the results, it was concluded that sound primary teeth had significantly higher amount of Mn, V, B, Si, Fe, Cu & Ni (p<0.05). Sound permanent teeth have higher amount of Al, Sr, Cr, F, K & Mg (p<0.05), while caries primary teeth showed higher amount of V & Cu (p<0.05). Caries permanent teeth had significantly higher amount of Al, Sr, B, Mn, K, F Ni, Fe & Cr (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study support the previous studies about the importance of fluoride as a protective factor against dental caries. Furthermore, beside F, both V and Mn elements may have a cariostatic effect. Al could be cariostatic since it was present in high concentration in sound primary teeth but caries promoting element in permanent teeth. Also B could have a cariostatic effect on primary teeth, whereas Si could formulated as carious predisposing element in permanent teeth and cariostatic element in primary teeth. Keywords: Enamel, Trace elements, Dental caries.