Nutritional Aspects of Essential Trace Elements in Oral Health and Disease: An Extensive Review

Abstract

Human body requires certain essential elements in small quantities and their absence or excess may result in severe malfunctioning of the body and even death in extreme cases because these essential trace elements directly influence the metabolic and physiologic processes of the organism. Rapid urbanization and economic development have resulted in drastic changes in diets with developing preference towards refined diet and nutritionally deprived junk food. Poor nutrition can lead to reduced immunity, augmented vulnerability to various oral and systemic diseases, impaired physical and mental growth, and reduced efficiency. Diet and nutrition affect oral health in a variety of ways with influence on craniofacial development and growth and maintenance of dental and oral soft tissues. Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) are treated with antioxidants containing essential trace elements like selenium but even increased dietary intake of trace elements like copper could lead to oral submucous fibrosis. The deficiency or excess of other trace elements like iodine, iron, zinc, and so forth has a profound effect on the body and such conditions are often diagnosed through their early oral manifestations. This review appraises the biological functions of significant trace elements and their role in preservation of oral health and progression of various oral diseases.

Disrupted Iron Storage in Dental Fluorosis

“…As iron is involved in enamel structural properties (Bhattacharya et al 2016;Gordon et al 2015) altered by excessive fluoride and, as ferritin expressing maturation-stage ameloblasts are the main target cells of fluoride (Aoba and Fejerskov 2002), we investigated the putative link between exposure to fluoride and disruption iron storage in maturation-stage ameloblasts. Under control conditions, Perl's staining showed mouse ameloblasts to contain an increasing amount of iron during the process of amelogenesis, from the transition-to maturation-and pigmentation-stages ( Figure 1A and 1B) in accordance with previously published data (Miyazaki et al 1998;Wen and Paine 2013).…”

“…Pigmented tooth enamel occurs not only in rodents, but also in several vertebrate clades, from mammals to fishes. Pigmented superficial enamel is harder and more resistant to acid and wear than core enamel, and this property is tightly associated with higher iron content (Bhattacharya et al 2016;Gordon et al 2015). In humans, trace elements, such as iron, may reinforce dental health (Dumont et al 2014) and contribute to tooth resistance acquired during development.…”

Geophagic Clayey Materials of Sabga Locality (North West Cameroon): Genesis and Medical Interest

“…Zinc ions are effective antimicrobial agents even at low concentrations [70]. Zinc is also required for proper functioning of the senses of taste and smell and supports (North West Cameroon): Genesis and Medical Interest normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence [4]. There are claims of zinc having antioxidant properties, which may protect against accelerated aging and helps speed up the healing process after an injury.…”

Morphological rearrangements of the rat’s adrenal cortex under conditions of prolonged exposure to heavy metal salts and non-hormonal correction.

“…Солі важких металів є екзогенними факторами, що поширюються в біосфері і можуть впливати на здоров'я населення та стан екосистеми в цілому [3][4][5].В окремих північних районах України відмічене підвищення в ґрунті та питній воді солей цинку, хрому, свинцю, марганцю,міді та заліза, що зустрічаються в різних комбінаціях в залежності від регіонута чинять несприятливий вплив на здоров'я населення [6]. Надмірне надходження важких металів до організму призводить до їх накопичення в різних органах та системах [7,8]. Це, в свою чергу призводить до дисбалансу хімічних елементів, порушення гомеостазу та __________________________________________________________________________________ MORPHOLOGIA • 2019 • Том 13 • № 3 27 розвитку патологій, що є наслідком забруднення довкілля [3,7].…”