Relationship between Dietary Intake and Dental Caries in Preschool Children

Abstract

This study assessed the relationship between intake of nutrients and dental caries in preschool children. One hundred and eighty-two children aged three to six years were recruited from nine day care centers in central Taiwan. These children had an oral health examination, and their parents or guardians answered a questionnaire. Each child's intake of nutrients was estimated using the 24-hour dietary recall and food frequency questionnaire data. Logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the associations between dental caries and intake of each nutrient or food group, with adjustment for potential confounders. The prevalence of dental caries was 73 % and increased with age. Not being a first-born and having more between-meal snacks were associated with increased caries risk. After controlling for other important factors, vitamin A intake was significantly associated with fewer dental caries (deft, decayed, indicated for extraction, and filled primary teeth: ≥ 4 vs. < 4), with an odds ratio of 0.97 (95 % confidence interval: 0.94 - 0.99) for an 100-μg increase in vitamin A intake. There was no significant association between dental caries and energy, macronutrient intake, and Ca/P ratio, respectively. Vegetable intake was also significantly associated with lower dental caries score.

Study of the dietary minerals intake of children with early childhood caries

“…The analysis of the data concerning calcium intake showed that a great number of the examined children did not consume sufficient amounts of that inorganic element. The results derived by us confirmed the evidence communicated by other researchers 17,18 , proving that children with four and more caries had definitely lower mean daily calcium intake (496 and 511 mg, respectively).…”

“…According to Gupta 20 , the reduced intake of this inorganic element could disturb calcium-phosphorus metabolism thus causing decreased resistance of apatite crystals in dental structures. The obtained intake values of 139 mg have been confirmed by other study 18 .…”

Dental plaque, preventive care, and tooth brushing associated with dental caries in primary teeth in schoolchildren ages 6–9 years of Leon, Nicaragua

“…We can speculate that the reason for this finding could be the relatively narrow distribution of SEP in the Nicaraguan study population. Finally, although some studies mention birth order as a risk indicator for the presence of dental caries [11,12], we did not find this association, just as it has not been found in other studies [12,13]. …”

“…For example, as far as socio-demographic factors are concerned, age and sex [2–6,8–10] seem to be associated with caries in different ways, depending on whether the primary or the permanent dentitions are examined. Other studies have found that the order of birth of the child may be a risk indicator for dental caries, but this relationship has not been fully confirmed [11–13]. With regard to socioeconomic factors, it is a common finding that with worse socioeconomic conditions, oral health status is deteriorated [4,6,14].…”

No Impact of Lower Intake of Micronutrients on Severe Early Childhood Caries: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study

“…Moreover, divergent opinions are found on the association between micronutrient intake and early childhood caries. While some studies have found no such association, others suggest that micronutrients have a cariostatic effect and others suggest a cariogenic effect [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. However, the majority of these findings come from animal studies or investigations involving human subjects using a cross-sectional design.…”