Growth and development of permanent teeth germ of transplacental Yu-Cheng babies in Taiwan

Abstract

This paper is intended to present a study of transplacental Yu-Cheng babies in Taiwan. The focus of the study is to demonstrate how a contaminated food source can affect the growth and development of permanent teeth germ in children. A sporadic outbreak of a peculiar skin disease was reported in Japan in October of 1968. An epidemiological study revealed the outbreak of this disease was caused by contaminated Kanemi rice oil. This episode of rice oil poisoned with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) was the first reported outbreak of PCB poisoning in the world. A second episode occurred in central Taiwan eleven years after the Japanese episode. Registered data from the Taiwan Provincial Government Health Department reported 1,843 cases in 1980. Of this group, more than 800 women were child-bearing age and most of these women would or soon would be married and pregnant. The offsprings of these women were in danger, because it has been proven that PCB intoxication could affect the fetus. These babies, only contaminated through the placenta, are called PCB transplacental Yusho babies in Japan and PCB transplacental Yu-Cheng babies in Taiwan. Babies with PCB poisoning could have Fetal PCB syndrome (FPS) and may have retarded eruption ofmore » permanent teeth and other anomalies such as reduced numbers of teeth and abnormal shaped roots. The study of transplacental Yu-Cheng babies is an important public health issue for Taiwan. Although there may be other issues, this study focuses only on the growth and development of permanent teeth of those babies affected by PCB transplacental contamination.« less