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

Abstract

The oral conditions of an individual are the result of different factors, including the subject’s genotype, oral hygiene habits, the type of diet, and lifestyle, such as smoking. Nutrition in the first years of life can affect dental health for a long time. To prevent mouth diseases, it is also important to eliminate unfavorable eating behaviour and to amplify protective ones. Eating habits, especially in pediatric age, are an easily modifiable and controllable factor, and diet, in addition to influencing the health of the oral cavity, plays a fundamental role in systemic health. Indeed, a sugar-rich diet can lead to conditions, such as diabetes, being overweight, and obesity. The present research was an epidemiological study, with the aim of highlighting some of the associations between nutrition and oral health. In particular, we studied those lesions of hard and soft tissues that are diagnosed most frequently by dentists: caries, enamel hypoplasia, periodontal disease, and aphotoxic lesions and their associations with nutritional deficiencies and excesses including proteins, vitamin A, vitamin D, B vitamins, and iron and calcium minerals. To perform this study, we recruited 70 patients from the pediatric and orthodontic clinics, aged between 3 and 15 years (y), with mean age of 10.4 y.o. The study was conducted by providing a questionnaire to pediatric patients’ (supported from their parents or guardians) on individual eating habits, followed by an accurate oral cavity specialistic examination. The nutritional data were processed by using Grana Padano Observatory (OGP) software, freely provided online by the OPG. The statistical tests performed were the chi-square ( χ 2 ) for independence, and Cramér’s V test was used to evaluate the associations between eating habits and oral pathologies. The results showed that certain nutritional vitamin deficiencies and nutritional excesses were associated with definite oral pathologies.

Effects of Vitamin D on the Renin–Angiotensin System and Acute Childhood Pneumonia

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Nutritional status and its effect on dental health among children

“…Deficiencies of iron, folate, vitamins of the B group, and vitamin A were related to the development of aphthosis. 52 In children, undernutrition is a major cause of noma. The child's immune system is first compromised by undernutrition, which subsequently fosters a suitable habitat for noma.…”

Efficacy of a Non-addictive Nasal Irrigation Based on Sea Salt Enriched with Natural Enzymes among Patients with Sinusitis: An In Vivo, Randomized, Controlled Trial

“…The winter is the most common season for overall rhinosinusitis occurrence [2]. Several pathogenic factors have been attributed to the development of CRS, including the presence of biofilms, changes of mucociliary clearance, remodeling of tissue, and immune factors [3], [4], [5], [6].…”