RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of maternal passive smoking on the morphology and mineralization of dental hard tissue in offspring rats. DESIGN: We have established a maternal passive smoking model. Offspring rats were sacrificed on the 20th day of gestation (E20) or the 3rd (D3) or 10th day (D10) after birth. We observed hard tissue morphology using Haematoxylin-Eosin (H&E) staining sections, used micro computer tomography (Micro-CT) to measure hard tissue thickness and volume on the mandibular first molars of the offspring rats, and used Micro-CT and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy with scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS) to determine the hard tissue mineral density and the ratio of calcium atom number/calcium atom+phosphorus atom number (Ca(2+)/P(3-)+Ca(2+)). RESULTS: Overall, the development of dental hard tissue was delayed in the offspring of passive smoking rats. The thickness and volume of hard tissue were lower in the offspring of the maternal passive smoking group than in the offspring of the control group. Mineral density of the hard tissue and the ratio of (Ca(2+)/P(3-)+Ca(2+)) were also reduced in the offspring of the maternal passive smoking group. CONCLUSION: Maternal passive smoking inhibits the morphological development and mineralization level of hard tissue on the mandibular first molars of offspring rats.