Use of the antibiotic amoxicillin, often sold under the brand name Amoxil, during infancy appears to be linked to tooth enamel defects in permanent teeth, according to a study in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
Dental fluorosis, a result of exposure to excessive fluoride during enamel formation, is one of the most common developmental enamel defects, the authors note. The clinical signs range from barely noticeable white flecks to pits and brown stains.
Amoxicillin is one of the most common antibiotics used among pediatric patients, mainly for treatment of otitis media -- infection and inflammation of the middle ear. There has been some evidence that amoxicillin use could be associated with dental enamel defects, and, the authors suggest, even a small effect on dental enamel could have a significant effect on the public's dental health because of the widespread use of amoxicillin.
"The results show that amoxicillin use during early infancy seems to be linked to dental fluorosis on both permanent first molars and maxillary central incisors," the authors report. "Duration of amoxicillin use was related to the number of early erupting permanent teeth with fluorosis."
Amoxicillin use from three to six months doubled the risk of dental fluorosis. "The significantly elevated risk for dental fluorosis associated with amoxicillin use during early infancy was found at all levels of statistical analyses, even after controlling for other potential risk factors, such as fluoride intake, otitis media infections, and breastfeeding," the authors report.
"The findings suggest that amoxicillin use in infancy could carry some heretofore undocumented risk to the developing teeth," the authors conclude. "While the results of this one study do not warrant recommendations to cease use of amoxicillin early in life, they do further highlight the need to use antibiotics judiciously, particularly during infancy."
http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/1794/31/