Health & Medicine - Posted by Christopher James-NYU on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 9:51 - 4 Comments 
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Pool water may strip tooth enamel
This summer, many families will be cooling off in their backyard pools unaware that, if not properly maintained, those pools could pose a hazard to dental health. (Credit: iStockphoto)
NYU (US) — Taking a dip in the backyard pool may cause permanent damage to teeth if chlorine and pH levels are not properly maintained.
Share this article
Email
Republish this article
The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
“Improperly maintained pool chlorination in swimming pools can cause rapid and excessive erosion of dental enamel,” says Leila Jahangiri, a clinical associate professor prosthodontics of New York University (NYU).
“It is a difficult balance to maintain home pools properly,” Jahangiri contends. “Proper pool chlorine and pH levels need to be monitored and maintained on a weekly basis”
Jahangiri says maintenance by a professional pool service may cost thousands of dollars a season, “so many homeowners try and maintain their pools themselves.”
Jahangiri has observed first-hand the effects of improper pH levels. In a paper not yet published, Jahangiri and NYU colleagues detail the case of a 52-year-old male patient whose main complaints included “extremely sensitive teeth,” dark staining, and rapid enamel loss over a very short five-month period beginning in May 2010.
Jahangiri and her team concluded the enamel loss was a direct result of the patient’s 90 minute swimming exercise routine he had started earlier that summer. Their findings suggest that improper pool chlorination was responsible for the patient’s dental erosion.
“If the chemical levels are not properly maintained, pool water contact with teeth can cause serious enamel erosion,” Jahangiri says. Case studies show the effect occurs when the pH of the water ranges between 2.7 and 7.
While the Center for Disease Control and various dental journals have already encountered cases of dental enamel erosion due to swimming pool chlorination, Jahangiri’s team believes that common awareness of the subject is insufficient.
“This case really worries me,” Jahangiri says. “Given all the owner-maintained backyard swimming pools there are, the possibilities for people to harm their own teeth are staggering.”
More news from NYU: www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications
Please wait
4 Comments
Scott
A Ph of 2.7 would be immediately notived snd would cause extensive whole body skin burns if exposure was over a few minutes. Perhaps there should be training classes for anyone with a private pool.
Tim
Interesting article. I have an above-ground pool and I maintain it myself with a test kit, adding appropriate chemicals when needed, etc. But, I will now monitor the pH levels more closely, as my kids and their friends use the pool frequently. Thank you!
Dr. Leila Jahangiri, Chair Department of Prosthodontics (NYU)
@ Scott: you can test the water periodically, but there is no literature on the pH levels of municipal water supplies being reported as “dangerous” or harmful in this way.Also, the good news is that the smell is not necessarily connected to the pH level.
@ Dr. O: you are absolutely right on body skin lesions. This patient had a large rash in the flank area- dermatologists could not determine the cause. It was absolutely related to the pool chlorination.
What about municipal water supplies? I have lived in several locations where the level of chlorine is NOT consistent (having been chemically burned once when they over-chlorinated, and other days where there is a detectable smell).