Tooth development disorders in infants of rat dams exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and protective role of tocopherol and acetylsalicylic acid.

Aryl hybrocardon receptor (AhR) activation plays a key role in the pathomechanism of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-induced defective spatial structure of teeth caused by disordered collagen synthesis. The aim of this study was to identify the influence of dioxins present in female Buffalo rats on the dental structure of their offspring's in the neonatal period and the potential of α-tocopherol and acetylsalicylic acid in curbing post-dioxin hard tissue defects. Research material consisted of molar teeth (n=40) of rat pups which had been given a single dose of TCDD and were then treated with tocopherol or acetylsalicylic acid for 3 weeks. In the offspring of rat dams exposed to TCDD, ameloblasts and odontoblasts were less developed in comparison with the control group and less dynamic angiogenesis in the area of dental papilla was observed. In the pups of TCDD-exposed mothers, a smaller number of AhR was found in amelogenic and odontoblastic cells, whereas in the pups of mothers exposed to TCDD followed by tocopherol and acetylsalicylic acid treatment, the expression of AhR in ameloblasts and odontoblasts increased. We conclude that tocopherol and acetylsalicylic acid treatment exerts a protective effect on the TCDD-induced structural defects of tooth tissue.