U-shaped association between maternal age at delivery and dental caries in offspring.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between maternal age at delivery and caries in offspring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This registry-based cohort study included all children born between 2000 and 2003 and who were residing in Stockholm County, Sweden, at 7 years of age. Between 2007 and 2010, the cohort (n = 65,259) was examined to determine caries experience (deft scores) at 7 years of age. Age of mother at childbirth was retrieved from the patient histories. Data were analysed using linear regressions. RESULTS: The lowest mean deft occurred in children born to mothers aged 25-34 years. The final model - adjusted for sex, income, educational level, migration background, family situation, smoking, obesity, small for gestational age, and number of siblings - found that young mothers and older mothers were significant risk indicators for caries experience at 7 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: The present study found a U-shaped relationship between maternal age at childbirth and caries experience in the offspring at age 7 years. The offspring of mothers under 25 or over 34 years of age are at greater risk of having more teeth with caries experience.

Adverse birth outcomes and the risk of dental caries at age 3 years.

BACKGROUND: Since birth outcome is associated with maternal and newborn health, it can be a predictor of the future health of the child. AIM: To investigate the association between adverse birth outcomes and dental caries. DESIGN: The present registry-based cohort study included all children born in 2000-2003, residing in Stockholm County, Sweden and who received a dental examination at the age of 3 years (n = 74 748). National registries supplied data on socioeconomic conditions, maternal health, maternal health behavior, and birth outcomes. Forward stepwise binary logistic regression was performed to determine predictors of caries experience in the 3-year-olds. RESULTS: Of the subjects, 6.0% had caries experience (decayed, extracted, and filled teeth [deft] ≥ 1), 5.6% were born preterm (<37 weeks); 2.2% were born small (SGA) and 3.7% large (LGA) for gestational age. Of the studied adverse birth outcomes, only SGA was significantly associated with caries experience at 3 years of age, and only for mothers who had refrained from smoking during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: SGA is associated with caries experience in 3-year-old children; however, this relationship occurs only in mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy.

Association between obesity, flow rate of whole saliva, and dental caries in adolescents.

In a cross-sectional study design, we test the hypothesis whether childhood obesity is associated with reduced flow rate of stimulated whole saliva and dental caries. Obese adolescents (n = 65) with a mean age of 14.5 years and normal weight subjects (n = 65) with a mean age of 14.2 years were clinically examined with respect to dental caries, visible plaque accumulation (visible plaque index (VPI%)), gingival inflammation in terms of bleeding on probing (BOP%) as well as answered a questionnaire concerning medical history, medication, oral hygiene habits, smoking habits, and sociodemographic background. The flow rate of stimulated whole saliva (ml/min) was determined. BMI was calculated and adjusted for age and gender (BMI-sds). The obese subjects exhibited higher number of decayed surfaces (DS), 0.7 vs. 0.1 (P = 0.008) and lower flow rate of stimulated whole saliva 1.2 vs. 2.0 ml/min (P < 0.001). Of obese patients, 17 subjects had VPI% >25 and 21 had BOP% >25, both compared to only 5 subjects of the normal weight with P values of 0.005 and <0.001, respectively. In a multivariate logistic regression model BMI-sds was significantly associated with the flow rate of stimulated whole saliva less than the median value 1.5 ml/min (P < 0.001; odds ratio (OR) 1.36) as well as with DS (DS >0) (P = 0.002; OR 1.31) and the associations were not found to be confounded by any of the studied variables. The results indicate that childhood obesity is associated with reduced flow rate of stimulated whole saliva and dental caries and further strengthens obesity's negative effect on children's oral health.

Maternal overweight and smoking: prenatal risk factors for caries development in offspring during the teenage period.

This study aimed to investigate pre- and perinatal determinants as risk factors for caries development in offspring. In this longitudinal register-based cohort study, we included all children (n = 18,142), of 13 years of age who resided in the county of Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000. The cohort was followed until individuals were 19 years of age. In total, 15,538 subjects were examined. Dental caries (decayed, missing and filled teeth/surfaces), were collected from the Public Health Care Administration in Stockholm. Data concerning pre- and perinatal factors, as well as parental socio-demographic determinants, were collected from the Swedish Medical Birth Register and Swedish National Registers at Statistics Sweden. Mean approximal caries increment (DMFSa) was 1.34 +/- 2.74. The results showed that the prenatal factors, "maternal smoking" and "maternal overweight" exhibited an increased risk of approximal caries increment, (OR 1.33; 95% CI = 1.22-1.44) and (OR 1.21; 95% CI = 1.07-1.37), respectively. Concerning maternal overweight, the excess risk enhanced in relation to the magnitude of the caries increment and maternal smoking was significant across the various DMFSa outcome cut-off levels. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the prenatal factors, maternal overweight, as well as smoking, are risk factors for approximal caries development in offspring during the teenage period.

Risk factors and risk indicators in relation to incipient alveolar bone loss in Swedish 19-year-olds.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate incipient alveolar bone loss and subgingival calculus on a subject-based level in Swedish 19-year-olds, with special reference to risk factors and risk indicators. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Subjects (n=686) with different socio-economic profiles enrolled at seven public dental clinics in suburban Stockholm answered a questionnaire on general health, tobacco habits, oral hygiene habits, and their parents' socio-economic background. The clinical and radiographic examination included registration of plaque, bleeding on probing (GBI), supra- and subgingival calculus, caries, and restorations. Incipient alveolar bone loss was recorded when the distance from the cemento-enamel junction to the alveolar crest was > or =2.0 mm. RESULTS: The prevalence of incipient alveolar bone loss was 5.1%; multivariate analysis disclosed the associated variables to be "subgingival calculus" (odds ratio (OR) 4.2) and "proximal restoration > or =1" (OR 2.1). The cumulative probability of exhibiting incipient alveolar bone loss was 19.6%. The prevalence of subgingival calculus was 14.3% and subgingival calculus was associated with "GBI > 25%" (OR 6.0), "supragingival calculus" (OR 4.6), and "father born abroad" (OR 2.8). The cumulative probability of exhibiting subgingival calculus was estimated to be 65.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with subgingival calculus as well as proximal restorations are at higher relative risk of exhibiting incipient alveolar bone loss than are those without subgingival calculus. In contrast to incipient alveolar bone loss, immigrant background was significantly associated with subgingival calculus among Swedish adolescents.