A longitudinal study of dental caries risk among very young low SES children

Abstract

Objectives Early childhood caries is a challenging public health problem in the United States and elsewhere; however, there is limited information concerning risk factors in very young children. The purpose of this study was to assess baseline risk factors for 18-month caries prevalence as part of a longitudinal study of high-risk children. Methods 212 children 6–24 months of age were recruited from a rural community in Iowa. Subjects were enrolled in the WIC program, which provides nutritional support for low-income families with children. Dental examinations using d1d2-3 criteria were conducted at baseline and after 18 months. Caries prevalence was determined at the frank decay level (d2-3 or filled surfaces), as well as at the non-cavitated level (d1), and combined (d1, d2-3 or f surfaces). Risk factor data were collected at baseline and after 9- and 18- months. These data included beverage consumption data, presence of visible plaque, and use of fluoride toothpaste for children as well as mutans streptococci (MS) levels of mothers and children and family socio-demographic factors. Results 128 children (60%) remained in the study after 18 months. Among these children, prevalence of d-1d2-3/f level caries increased from 9% to 77%, while d2-3/f level caries increased from 2% to 20%. Logistic regression models for baseline predictors of d2-3f caries at the 18-month follow-up found presence of MS in children (OR=4.4; 95% CI: 1.4, 13.9) and sugar-sweetened beverages (OR=3.0; 95% CI: 1.1, 8.6) to be the only significant risk factors. Socio-demographic factors and use of fluoride toothpaste were not significant in these models. Conclusions Results suggest that early colonization by MS and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages are significant predictors of early childhood caries in high-risk populations.

Consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages by 2-year-olds: findings from a population-based survey

“…Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) among children of pre-school age has consistently been associated, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, with dental caries (1) , increased energy intake (2) , displacement of consumption of milk and Ca, and suboptimal diet quality (3) . Consumption of SSB has been implicated as a significant cause of obesity (4) .…”

Impacto da deficiência de vitamina D na prevalência de cárie precoce na infância: um estudo de revisão

“…Sob essa perspectiva, fatores etiológicos primários para cárie, como a associação de alta ingestão de açúcar 20,21 , a má higiene oral [22][23][24] , a falta de exposição ao flúor e os distúrbios perinatais relacionados com defeitos de esmalte 21,24 poderiam induzir tal legado. Atualmente, estudos [13][14][15][16][17][18] mostram que indiví-duos submetidos a níveis baixos de vitamina D no período pré-natal podem desenvolver defeitos de esmalte, que é um fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de cárie precoce na infância.…”

Children’s Food and Beverage Promotion on Television to Parents

“…Sugarsweetened beverages were the second most heavily promoted item during the study year, with 60.1% of the airtime for sugar-sweetened fruit drinks and 100% of the airtime for chocolate milk devoted to parent-directed advertisements. Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption contributes to excess weight gain 15 and dental caries 17,18 among children, and such beverages are not recommended for children. 32 In our study, all of the parentdirected advertisements for sugarsweetened beverages highlighted a nutrition or health message, whereas none of the child-directed advertisements for those products promoted nutrition or health.…”

“…14 Advertisement characteristics were compared across target audiences, and airtime for advertisements by target audience were presented by food and beverage type. Given the health concerns related to sugarsweetened beverage consumption among children, [15][16][17][18] we present a case study to describe the marketing approaches used in promoting sugar-sweetened beverages. The results provide novel information about the nature and extent of parent-directed advertising for nutritionally questionable children's foods and beverages on television.…”