Oral health abnormalities in children born with macrosomia established during mixed dentition period

Introduction: The prevalence of soft tissue and hard tooth tissuediseases in the oral cavity and the morphofunctional disorders of craniofacial complex, require attention ofspecialistsin various branches of medicine. Scientists began to pay attention to metabolic and other violations that have occurred in the fetal development and led to the occurrence of certain changes in the dental status of the child. The aim of this research is to study the features of the dental health condition in the children of Northeast of Ukraine, who were born with macrosomia during the period of mixed dentition. The study takes into account intrauterine body length growth acceleration, intrauterine obesity or well-balanced acceleration of both the body weight and length gain.

Materials and methods:Thirty 6.5-11-year-old children with fetal macrosomia were examined (MainGroup). A Comparison Group was comprised of sixteen children, whose weight-height parameters at birth were normal (fetal normosomia). All children in the Main group were split into four subgroups in accordance with weight-height parameters at birth using the V. I. Grischenko and his co-authors' harmonious coefficient. The evaluation of the hygiene status of the oral cavity, the dental caries intensity evaluation, and the quantitative analysis of minor salivary gland secretion have been performed. The prevalence of dentoalveolar abnormalities was evaluated.

Results: The highest values of caries intensity were recorded in macrosomic-at-birth children born with harmonious (well-balanced) intrauterine development, with intrauterine obesity and increased body length, or with intrauterine obesity and an average body length. Macrosomic children have reduced number of minor salivary glands per unit area in comparison with the normosomic-at-birth children. The saliva secretion of minor salivary glands in macrosomic children is reliably, by 16,5% on average, reduced. Children born with fetal macrosomia have long narrow faces and high palates more frequently than normosomic-at-birth children. Children born macrosomic have a significantly higher percentage (100% versus 73%)of dentoalveolar abnormalitiesin comparison with the normosomic-at-birth children.

Conclusions: The processes causing fetal macrosomia have a great impact on the dental status of children in the period of mixed dentition.