TOOTH FAIRIES TRACK HEAVY METALS IN CHILDREN’S TEETH

A new Australian-first study is set to investigate whether children in remote and regional communities are being exposed to harmful levels of heavy metals through drinking water.

The Heavy Metal Tooth Fairy Project will analyse baby teeth to build a long-term picture of environmental exposure, following earlier research that raised concerns about water quality across parts of Western Australia.

Wongutha, Mulba-Ngadu and Anagu woman Annette Stokes AM is a chief investigator for the Heavy Metal Tooth Fairy Project and builds on Annette’s work for the Western Desert Kidney Health Project with her sister-in-law and paediatrician, Dr Christine Jeffries-Stokes PhD.

Dr Stokes told Ngaarda Media the idea came after unexpected findings during the earlier health research. The researchers initially expected to find higher rates of illness among Aboriginal participants, but instead uncovered broader health concerns affecting entire communities.

“We got a shock,” she said. “What we found was actually the non-Aboriginal children in the study, if anything, were worse off than the Aboriginal children.” Further investigation pointed to environmental factors rather than ethnicity. “It’s more about the place where you are,” she said.

Water testing revealed high levels of nitrates in bore water supplies in several towns, including Leonora, Laverton and Menzies. “Nitrate alone actually is pretty bad and is really bad for your kidneys,” Dr Stokes said.

The researchers also identified arsenic in some children during initial testing, raising broader concerns about what else may be present in groundwater. “We found that the drinking water is highly contaminated with a thing called nitrates,” said Stokes. And that suggested to us that there was a toxic exposure going on.”

Dr Stokes said access to data on heavy metals such as uranium and lead in water has been limited, so the new project will use children’s baby teeth as a biological record of long-term exposure because “baby teeth fall out naturally, and they can be a lifetime record of some exposures.”

Samples will be analysed at the University of Western Australia using advanced lab technology to detect traces of heavy metals.

Researchers say nitrate contamination alone may be linked to a range of health conditions, including kidney disease, birth defects and mental health issues.

Maps of nitrate levels in water have already shown similarities with dialysis rates across parts of WA. “If you compare where nitrates are high in drinking water to where people need dialysis, they match,” said Dr Stokes.

The findings could have implications beyond Western Australia, with similar conditions suspected across other parts of the country.

The Heavy Metal Tooth Fairy study will involve schools across the Goldfields and desert regions, with children taking part in hands-on science activities.

Tooth Fairy teams will work with students to test local water and learn about environmental health. “They’ll do a citizen science project. the project also aims to improve health awareness, with every child in every school receiving tooth cleaning products and education about dental hygiene.

The program is fully funded and awaiting ethics approval.