Zinc in teeth from children with and without cystic fibrosis.

This study analyzes Zn concentration levels in teeth from children with and without cystic fibrosis with respect to different variables, namely: gender, age, type of teeth, area, fluoridation of water supply, term of pregnancy, maternal smoking habit, and maternal drinking habit. The method of analysis is proton-induced X-ray emission on crown samples. Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) studies on some of these samples show close correlation to the PIXE data. In general, the concentration level of zinc in teeth of children greater than 10 years old is less than the concentration level in teeth of children aged 10 years or younger for children who took nontetracycline antibiotics. Breast feeding-mixed feeding-bottle feeding show no significant difference in the zinc concentration in teeth.