Does nutrition have an effect on the timing of tooth formation?

Abstract

Background: The effect of nutritional status on the timing of permanent tooth formation is not well understood, despite clear evidence that systemic stresses result in enamel defects during tooth formation.Aim: This study investigated the effect of nutritional status (measured as BMI, height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference, and head circumference) on permanent tooth formation.Method: This was a prospective cross-sectional study involving 642 (270 males, 372 females) healthy Black South African participants aged 5-20 years. The height and BMI were converted to z-scores using WHO z-score for age tables. The participants were grouped into underweight/short for age (<−2), normal (≥ − 2 to 2.0) and overweight/obese/tall for age (>2). Panoramic radiographs of the children were assessed using Demirjian's eight stages of permanent tooth formation and age was estimated using Demirjian's method. Probit regression analysis was used to calculate the mean age of attainment of the developmental stages for the left mandibular teeth (I2-M2).Results: There was significant advancement in the age of attainment of the final (H) stage for the majority of permanent teeth in the overweight (mean male BMI 22.9; female 27.94) group compared to the underweight (p < .05). Negative binomial regression indicated that age, height, and BMI were significant predictors of the dental maturity score for males (p < .05), while age, height, weight, BMI and HC were significant predictors for females (p < .05).Conclusion: Nutritional status had a significant effect on the timing of tooth formation in males and females in the study population. The effect was mainly noticeable for children in the extremes of the spectrum of BMI z-scores.

Lack of biological mortality bias in the timing of dental formation in contemporary children: Implications for the study of past populations

“…Dental development is known to be more resistant to environmental influences in its development than linear growth or skeletal development (for reviews of the literature on this topic, see Cardoso, 2007a; Smith, 1991), and thus dental development is considered a more accurate indicator of age than skeletal growth. Nongenetic factors purported to impact dental development include: nutrition, particularly obesity (Esan & Schepartz, 2020; Jääsaari et al, 2016; Nicholas et al, 2018), systemic and genetic illness (Atar & Körperich, 2010), and secular trends (Cardoso et al, 2010). The extent to which dental development is affected by malnutrition is debated (e.g., Elamin & Liversidge, 2013); however, it is clear that dental development is not completely unaffected by environmental influences (Cardoso, 2007b).…”

Nutritional Status is Associated with Permanent Tooth Eruption in a Group of Brazilian School Children

“…The impact on permanent tooth eruption for children in the extremes of the spectrum of BMI z-scores was noticed by different studies in many populations. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] In our study, the logistic regression adjusted by gender and age demonstrate that underweight children had more than 4 times higher chance to present DTE. Underweight and malnourishment were already associated with permanent DTE in children from Cambodia, 10 in Filipino teenagers 21 and was also associated with delayed tooth formation in children and teenagers from South Africa.…”

“… 14 The current evidence supports that the disturbance in tooth eruption is directly related to the child’s growth, development and nutritional status and should be considered in pediatric patients during dental treatment. 10 - 25 Although the association between permanent tooth eruption (or delayed exfoliation of the primary tooth) was previously investigated in other Brazilian populations, 19 , 20 we also decided to explore the impact of the nutritional status on tooth eruption time in School children from Alfenas, which is a medium size city located in Minas Gerais state. It is important to emphasize that Brazil is a country with a continental size with a different ethnic composition ranging according to the state, 2 as well as socioeconomic and cultural differences.…”

“…Many factors could affect primary and permanent tooth eruption. Some studies suggested that low birth weight and prematurity, 1 - 4 endocrinology conditions, 5 - 7 ethnicity, 8 socioeconomic aspects, 9 and nutritional status, such as malnourishment (underweight), and obesity, 7 , 10 - 25 could affect tooth eruption leading to a delay or earlier tooth eruption and primary tooth exfoliation.…”

Does age estimated from teeth forming in different early life periods show differential discrepancy with known age?

“…Although dental development has been found to be relatively stable and insensitive to biocultural factors, particularly in comparison to skeletal development, the sequence and timing of dental formation are not entirely immune to environmental influences (Cardoso 2007a; Conceição & Cardoso, 2010; Esan & Schepartz, 2019; May, Goodman, & Meindl, 1993). It is therefore possible that individuals who are exposed to adverse environmental and biocultural circumstances will experience a delay or stunting in dental growth that may be mediated by canalization.…”