Impact of Dietary Trajectories on Obesity and Dental Caries in Preschool Children: Findings from the Healthy Smiles Healthy Kids Study.

This study examines the impact of longitudinal dietary trajectories on obesity and early childhood caries (ECC) in preschool children in Australia. Mother-infant dyads from the Healthy Smiles Healthy Kids study were interviewed at 4 and 8 months, and 1, 2, and 3 years of age. Children underwent anthropometric and oral health assessments between 3 and 4 years of age. Multivariable logistic regression and negative binomial regression analysis were performed for the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and the number of tooth surfaces with dental caries, respectively. The intake of core, discretionary, and sugary foods showed distinct quadratic (n = 3) trajectories with age. The prevalence of overweight or obesity was 10% (n = 72) and that of early childhood caries (ECC) was 33% (mean decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces (dmfs) score: 1.96). Children with the highest trajectories of discretionary foods intake were more likely to be overweight or obese (adjusted OR: 2.51, 95 %CI: 1.16-5.42). Continued breastfeeding beyond 12 months was associated with higher dmfs scores (adjusted IRR: 2.17, 95 %CI: 1.27-3.73). Highest socioeconomic disadvantage was the most significant determinant for overweight or obesity (adjusted OR: 2.86, 95 %CI: 1.11-7.34) and ECC (adjusted IRR: 2.71, 95 %CI: 1.48-4.97). Targeted health promotion interventions should be designed to prevent the incidence of two highly prevalent conditions in preschool children.

Obesity and dental caries in early childhood: a systematic review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this review are to examine whether overweight/obese children experience more dental caries compared with non-overweight/non-obese children, and to identify common risk factors associated with both conditions. INTRODUCTION: Systematic reviews have shown that any evidence on a link between overweight and/or obesity and dental caries remains inconclusive. This relationship has not been assessed for children under six years of age with primary dentition. Therefore, an updated systematic review of this topic is necessary as its findings will be important for young children, clinicians, researchers and policy makers. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Studies examining children under six years of age and with complete primary dentition at the time of dental caries assessment will be included. The exposure of interest is the overweight and/or obesity status of children under six years of age. The outcome is dental caries in children with complete primary dentition. There will be no restriction on setting, date or language. METHODS: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, PsycINFO, ProQuest Central, Scopus, CINAHL, and Google Scholar will be searched for eligible studies. The electronic database search will be supplemented by OpenGrey and Grey Literature Report databases, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, and the International Association for Dental Research conference websites. Two reviewers will independently screen and select studies, assess methodological quality and extract data. Meta-analysis will be performed, if possible, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Summary of Findings presented. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: PROSPERO CRD42018085292.

Obesity and dental caries in early childhood: A systematic review and meta-analyses.

Obesity and dental caries in children are significant health problems. The aims of this review are to identify whether children aged 6 years and younger with overweight and/or obesity have higher dental caries experience compared with children with normal weight and, secondly, to identify the common risk factors associated with both conditions. Medline, Embase, and seven other databases were systematically searched followed by lateral searches from reference lists, grey literature, theses, conference proceedings, and contacting field experts. Longitudinal observational studies addressing overweight and/or obesity and dental caries in children aged 6 years and younger were included. A random effects model meta-analyses were applied. Nine studies were included in this review. Children with overweight and obesity had a significantly higher dental caries experience compared with children with normal weight (n = 6). The pooled estimates showed that difference in caries experience between the two groups was statistically significant. Low levels of parental income and education were identified to be associated with both conditions in the sample population. Children with overweight and obesity are more vulnerable to dental caries. Low levels of parental income and education influence the relationship between the two conditions. However, the quality of evidence varied considerably; therefore, findings should be interpreted cautiously.