The 12th annual Fall Tooth Roundup of the Baby Tooth Survey began October 5 and will continue for ten weeks until December 11. “Operation Tooth” has been part of the St. Louis scene for the past twelve years. The enthusiastic community cooperation that launched the project continues to carry it on successfully today. Crucial to the success of the Survey has been the cooperation of all the schools in the area—city and county, public, parochial, and private. Dr. Harold L. Rosenthal heads the team of scientists who analyze the strontium 90 content of the baby teeth in the laboratory at Washington University School of Dentistry.
St. Louis has the first Baby Tooth Survey in the world; the biggest; the longest without interruption (which is very important from a scientific point of view); and the project is St. Louis’ very own. The data obtained by the Baby Tooth Survey has stimulated the formation of similar study groups in Canada, Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, Japan and Russia.
Studies of the strontium 90 content of baby teeth are necessary to thoroughly document a potentially hazardous, artificially created condition which occurred when large amounts of strontium 90 radiation were released into the atmosphere by nuclear explosion. Studies of teeth, bone, milk, and the environment need to be continued and compared for the betterment of future human welfare.
Tooth forms have been distributed to all schools in the St. Louis area. Thus, when a child loses a tooth, he can pick up a tooth form easily from his classroom, and have his parent fill it out. Each question the parent answers is of utmost importance to the scientists who process the teeth. Therefore, parents are asked to fill out the simple form completely before mailing it to Operation Tooth, Box 222, Clayton 63105.
Originally published in The Paper, October 1970.
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Original source: SD_Times1970_10.pdf, printed page(s) 10.
