One in 10 children are affected by MIH, which can cause their molars to disintegrate. But scientists are baffled by what causes it
Each day in England, on average, 141 children enter hospital to have rotten teeth removed, usually under general anaesthetic. They may get a day or so off school, but learning phonics and counting in threes is like a trip to Disneyland in comparison with surgery. Dentists say the rot is preventable in 90% of cases, with dietary habits the obvious culprit. But far more befuddling to modern dentistry is what lies behind the decay in those for whom it isn’t preventable.
Many of these children have what is known, uncatchily, as molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH), a condition first recognised in the 80s. It means that the outer enamel on certain teeth does not form properly. Some dentists are reporting a rise in the number of cases they’re seeing, but the condition is still poorly understood. Stephen Fayle, a spokesman for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), regularly sees the condition in his role as a hospital-based consultant in children’s dentistry in Leeds. He says the data available in the UK suggests that 10% of children are affected. “It’s a considerable, commonly presenting condition,” he says.
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