SAN ANTONIO, Texas -

Autism is a complex disorder causing a disruption in people's ability to communicate and socialize - and it's a problem that's growing.

According to Ray Palmer, Ph.D., with the University of Texas Health Science Center, autism rates have hit one in 88. While many scientists believe it could be triggered by a genetic predisposition combined with environmental exposure, nobody knows why it affects so many children.

He and his team are taking a new approach to studying Autism using discarded baby teeth. Donated teeth from children with and without autism are ground up into powder, made into liquid and gas and put through a process called mass spectrometry. It can reveal compounds like pesticides, plastics, even medicine the child was exposed to in the womb and as they grew.

"It's been done by looking at blood or hair analysis, but that's only a snapshot in time of recent exposure," said Palmer. "It doesn't provide a historical record of exposure like the teeth do. So, when the teeth are forming, that's a record of what you've been exposed to in-utero."

This kind of research is called tooth fairy studies. The group Autism Speaks has provided $100,000 for the study.

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Autism researchers looking to baby teeth