Long-term incompatibility of nutritional status and early childhood caries-A call to revamp perinatal and early childhood dietary care and follow-up

Kavita Sudersanadas; Maha Al Turki; Bahija Basheer; Winnie Philip; Ihssan Hassan Abdelrahman; Alghaliyah Alghofaili; Amani Almoubayed; Abeer Raad Almudaihim; Kavita Sudersanadas; Maha Al Turki; Bahija Basheer; Winnie Philip; Ihssan Hassan Abdelrahman; Alghaliyah Alghofaili; Amani Almoubayed; Abeer Raad Almudaihim

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2023035

AIMS Public Health

2023, Volume 10, Issue 3: 496-506. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023035

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Research article

Long-term incompatibility of nutritional status and early childhood caries-A call to revamp perinatal and early childhood dietary care and follow-up

1.
College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2.
College of Dentistry, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3.
King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Received: 28 January 2023 Revised: 18 May 2023 Accepted: 24 May 2023 Published: 08 June 2023

Background and aim
Dietary pattern and diet quality can influence the incidence of dental caries and can be indicated by decay missing filled (Dmf) scores in the primary dentition. This study aims to find the relationship of nutritional status and oral hygiene practices on Dmf scores of preschool children.

Materials and methods
Semi-structured and self-administered questionnaires, distributed among 60 preschoolers' parents, were used to assess the demographic and diet related data. Anthropometric measurements of the preschoolers were taken following universally accepted protocols. The relationship between dietary supplement consumption and the presence of dental caries was evaluated by chi-square test employing SPSS 22.

Results
The anthropometric measurements among 4-year-old children were on par with the standard values and that of 5-year-olds were below the reference range. All the measurements except head to chest circumference were higher than normal range among 3-year-old subjects. Regular and periodic dental check-ups significantly influenced dental caries prevention (p = 0.030). Statistically, there was no significant association between Dmf scores and thumb-sucking habits (p = 0.568), brushing teeth and usage of tooth floss (p = 0.96), consumption of nutrient supplements (p = 0.744), and BMI (p = 0.564) of the subjects. Furthermore, the correlation between z scores and Dmf scores was found insignificant.

Conclusion
Long-term as well as short-term malnutrition initiated 2 years after the start of the pre-schooling. With severity of undernutrition there was a trend to have high Dmf scores.
- nutritional status,
- oral hygiene practices,
- Dmf scores,
- BMI,
- Z scores,
- preschool children
Citation: Kavita Sudersanadas, Maha Al Turki, Bahija Basheer, Winnie Philip, Ihssan Hassan Abdelrahman, Alghaliyah Alghofaili, Amani Almoubayed, Abeer Raad Almudaihim. Long-term incompatibility of nutritional status and early childhood caries-A call to revamp perinatal and early childhood dietary care and follow-up[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2023, 10(3): 496-506. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2023035

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Abstract

Background and aim

Dietary pattern and diet quality can influence the incidence of dental caries and can be indicated by decay missing filled (Dmf) scores in the primary dentition. This study aims to find the relationship of nutritional status and oral hygiene practices on Dmf scores of preschool children.

Materials and methods

Semi-structured and self-administered questionnaires, distributed among 60 preschoolers' parents, were used to assess the demographic and diet related data. Anthropometric measurements of the preschoolers were taken following universally accepted protocols. The relationship between dietary supplement consumption and the presence of dental caries was evaluated by chi-square test employing SPSS 22.

Results

The anthropometric measurements among 4-year-old children were on par with the standard values and that of 5-year-olds were below the reference range. All the measurements except head to chest circumference were higher than normal range among 3-year-old subjects. Regular and periodic dental check-ups significantly influenced dental caries prevention (p = 0.030). Statistically, there was no significant association between Dmf scores and thumb-sucking habits (p = 0.568), brushing teeth and usage of tooth floss (p = 0.96), consumption of nutrient supplements (p = 0.744), and BMI (p = 0.564) of the subjects. Furthermore, the correlation between z scores and Dmf scores was found insignificant.

Conclusion

Long-term as well as short-term malnutrition initiated 2 years after the start of the pre-schooling. With severity of undernutrition there was a trend to have high Dmf scores.

Acknowledgments

The authors like to thank all the participants and their parents for their generous collaboration and the staff from preschools involved in the study. We also thank the Research Unit of the College of Applied Medical Sciences for its support during the study.

Use of AI tools declaration

The authors declare they have not used Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in the creation of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

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