The etiology of molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) is unclear. Our hypothesis was that certain antibiotics cause MIH. We examined 141 schoolchildren for MIH and, from their medical files, recorded the use of antibiotics under the age of 4 yrs. MIH was found in 16.3% of children. MIH was more common among those children who had taken, during the first year of life, amoxicillin (OR=2.06; 95% CI, 1.01-4.17) or the rarely prescribed erythromycin (OR=4.14; 95% CI, 1.05-16.4), compared with children who had not received treatment. Mouse E18 teeth were cultured for 10 days with/without amoxicillin at concentrations of 100 microg/mL-4 mg/mL. Amoxicillin increased enamel but not dentin thickness. An altered pattern of amelogenesis may have interfered with mineralization. We conclude that the early use of amoxicillin is among the causative factors of MIH.

At prevailing levels, exposure of a child via placenta/mother's milk to PCDD/Fs and PCBs is not associated with MIH.

Acute otitis media and the use of certain antibiotics were associated with the elevated risk of MIH/MIH2.

The prevalence of MIH was related to urban residency and could not be explained by any other factor included in the study.