Are common anti-inflammatory drugs causing enamel defects among children?

  Posted by: Dental Design      8th April 2023

It’s long been known that certain medications can impact how the permanent dentition develops. Antibiotics such as tetracycline and doxycycline, for instance, have been proven to create long-term discolouration of adult teeth when used to treat children, which is why they’re no longer prescribed to younger individuals.

However, worrying new research has revealed that some common anti-inflammatory drugs could also be causing enamel defects in children. The team at the University of São Paulo tested drugs such as celecoxib and indomethacin – both routinely prescribed anti-inflammatory medicines – on rats and monitored the effect that they had on teeth.

While few aesthetic changes were noted, teeth in the rats being treated with these drugs became more prone to fracture. Following this finding, further research by the team suggested that the drugs had caused levels of dental mineralisation to change, making teeth contain below-normal levels of essential minerals such as calcium and phosphate.[i] The reason behind this was that the drugs had altered the proteins required for the mineralisation process, weakening teeth over time.

So, what does this mean for humans?

Interestingly, this research seems to be in the early stages still, and the team are yet to look at the dentition of children who have taken these drugs. However, while testing on rats isn’t always a reliable indicator of the impact of drugs in humans, it very often is, so there’s likely to be some correlation between these medications and any enamel defects present in children too. We’ll have to wait and see.

This study does open wider questions about the drugs we use in daily life and their impact on oral health. If these links are solidified in this case, it will likely lead to legislation prohibiting their use in child patients. However, it does raise the question, should more research be performed on drugs before they become widely available, especially in regards to the impact they have on the oral health of children? It’s definitely food for thought.

The silver lining of this situation is that, of course, these drugs do have alternatives which are, as of yet, free from being linked to any enamel developmental issues. Plus, with new drugs being developed all the time, it seems likely that factors such as how they impact oral health will be considered in more depth in the future, especially if this is used as an example of why this should be the case.

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[i] Bite Magazine. Use of anti-inflammatory drugs by children may be associated with dental enamel defects. Link: https://www.bitemagazine.com.au/use-of-anti-inflammatory-drugs-by-children-may-be-associated-with-dental-enamel-defects/ [Last accessed January 23].