Malnutrition and Dental Caries: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Protein-energy malnutrition occurs when there are deficiencies in protein, energy foods or both, relative to a body’s needs. This paper reviews the association of early childhood malnutrition with: (1) dental caries, (2) en amel hypoplasia, (3) salivary gland hypofunction, and (4) delayed eruption. Studies suggest that caries of the primary dentition is associated with early childhood malnutrition, though the effect on caries of the permanent dentition has essentially not been studied. Enamel hypoplasia, salivary glandular hypofunction and saliva compositional changes may be mechanisms through which malnutrition is associated with caries, while altered eruption timing may create a challenge in the analysis of age-specific caries rates.

Dental markers of poverty: Biocultural deliberations on oral health of the poor in mid‐nineteenth‐century Ireland

“…While several clinical studies have reported a positive correlation between malnutrition and caries in primary teeth (Alvarez & Navia, 1989; Ismail, 1998; Johansson, Saellström, Rajan, & Parameswaran, 1992), there is currently a limited understanding as to whether the same relationship exists for the permanent dentition. A review article published in 2005 (Psoter, Reid, & Katz, 2005) only identified one longitudinal case study from Peru (Alvarez et al, 1993), where a link between early childhood protein‐energy malnutrition (PEM) and caries in the permanent dentition was observed. This particular study argued that the same factors observed in experimental rat studies, where malnourishment due to PEM and Vitamin A deficiency resulted in impaired amelogenesis and reduced salivary flow rates, caused an increase in caries frequencies (Harris & Navia, 1980; Johansson, Ericson, Bowen, & Cole, 1985; Navia, 1979).…”

Anomalías dentales y su relación con la malnutrición en la primera infancia: un análisis crítico de literatura

“…Algunos autores como Quiñones han reportado que las maloclusiones, como apiñamiento y relaciones intermaxilares y dentomaxilares inadecuadas, fueron más prevalentes en niños y niñas con malnutrición [2,6,12,15].…”

“…Varios autores reportaron que los niños con malnutrición presentaron mayor incidencia de patologías bucales, como gingivitis y enfermedad periodontal; y coincidieron en que a mayor severidad de la desnutrición, se pueden presentar mayores problemas dentales como caries y gingivitis [11][12][13][14][15].…”

“…Sobre la influencia de la desnutrición en el crecimiento y desarrollo craneofacial e intrabucal, muchos estudios afirman que este no es favorable, dado que puede causar cambios en el tejido estructural que pueden afectar el funcionamiento del aparato masticatorio [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Algunos autores han referido que los niños con desnutrición presentan hábitos de deglución atípica o deglución infantil, succión digital, respiración oral y uso del biberón en mayor porcentaje y frecuencia que los niños mejor nutridos [6,12,13].…”

A Life Course Perspective on Health Trajectories and Transitions

“…Thus, developmental defects of enamel may be viewed as one link in a chain of risk model, where early life stressors lead to enamel defects, which in turn are associated with a higher risk of dental caries. For the primary dentition, the particular pathway between early malnutrition and dental caries has been reviewed and generally supported, however high quality evidence from longitudinal studies is still needed (Psoter et al 2005).…”