Associations of nutritional status, sugar and second-hand smoke exposure with dental caries among 3- to 6-year old Malaysian pre-schoolers: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Dental caries in primary teeth is a serious oral health concern among children. It can lead to detrimental impacts on a child's growth, development, and quality of life. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to examine the prevalence of dental caries and its associations with nutritional status, sugar and secondhand smoke exposure among pre-schoolers. Methods: A total of 26 pre-schools in Seremban, Malaysia were randomly selected using the probability proportional to size sampling. Dental examination was performed by a dentist to record the number of decayed teeth (dt). Weight and height of the pre-schoolers were measured. The mother-administered questionnaire was used to gather information pertaining to the sociodemographic characteristics and secondhand smoke exposure. Total sugar exposure was calculated from a 3-day food record. Results: Among the 396 participating pre-schoolers, 63.4% of them had at least one untreated caries, with a mean ± SD dt score of 3.56 ± 4.57. Negative binomial regression analysis revealed that being a boy (adjusted mean ratio = 1.42, 95% CI = 0.005-0.698, p = 0.047), exposed to secondhand smoke (adjusted mean ratio = 1.67, 95% CI = 0.168-0.857, p = 0.004) and those who had more than 6 times of daily total sugar exposure (adjusted mean ratio = 1.93, 95% CI = 0.138-0.857, p = 0.013) were significantly associated with dental caries among pre-schoolers. Conclusion: A high prevalence of dental caries was reported in this study. This study highlights the need to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and practice healthy eating behaviours in reducing the risk of dental caries among pre-schoolers.

Dental Caries: Epidemiological & Public Health Approach among Children of District Nowshera Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

“…Moreover, parental occupation, family income and education level affects how many children have dental cavities [3] [9] [8]. Furthermore, children with low socio-economic status, increased stress and poverty have higher risk of dental caries [13] [4] [10]. Furthermore, many international studies identified that food and nutrition choices have a significant impact on the development of dental caries in children, and flavoured food items have been linked to an increased risk of dental caries [7] [14] [5].…”

The Association between Nutritional Alterations and Oral Lesions in a Pediatric Population: An Epidemiological Study

“…Foods that are harmful to general health can also damage teeth and vice versa. Research has been focusing on the effect of nutrition on mucous membranes and hard dental tissues, which can be a systemic effect or a local effect, such as the effect of acidic foods and drinks on the teeth, which can be responsible for dental erosion in patients with good oral hygiene [8][9][10][11]. Changing one's eating habits and lifestyle can lead to the improvement of oral and systemic conditions [12][13][14][15].…”