Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
3171662 Pediatric Dental Journal 2009 8 Pages PDF
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of ethanol on rat molar tooth development. Pregnant rats were fed 25%-ethanol solutions or ethanol-free water up to delivery, and tooth germs, as well as fully developed teeth, obtained from the offspring (ethanol-exposed rats or control rats) were subjected to morphometric analysis and immunohistochemistry. No significant differences were observed in terms of tooth size between the ethanol-exposed and control rats. Moreover, no abnormalities in cusp number, form or dental surface structure was noted in the ethanol-exposed rats. In the ethanol-exposed rats, the tooth development showed a slight retardation in comparison to the controls. Morphological alteration in tooth germs was not observed in the experimental rats. Both bone morphogenetic protein-4 and basic fibroblast growth factor-2 were immunolocalized in the cells composing the tooth germs in the ethanol-exposed rats. No differences, however, were found in immunostaining intensity between the ethanol-exposed and control rats. Taken together, the results indicate that the effect of ethanol on tooth development was weaker than expected in the rat FAS model.

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