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Dental Caries Severity and Nutritional Status of Nigerian Preschool Children
O O Olatosi1, A A Alade2,3,4, T Naicker5
1Department of Child Dental Health, Faculty of Dental Sciences, College of Medicine University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
Insights
Malnutrition significantly worsens early childhood caries (ECC) severity in Nigerian children. Severely wasted or wasted children with ECC exhibited higher decay rates compared to normal or overweight peers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Global Health
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Malnutrition is a critical global health issue, increasing child mortality.
- Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is the most common chronic childhood disease.
- ECC complications can negatively impact a child's growth and nutritional status.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the relationship between nutritional status and the severity of ECC.
- To evaluate dental caries (dmft) in children with ECC based on anthropometric z-scores in Nigeria.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study in 5 LGAs, Lagos State, Nigeria.
- Multistage sampling technique.
- 273 children with ECC analyzed using height-for-age (HFA), weight-for-age (WFA), weight-for-height (WFH), and body mass index-for-age (BMIA) z-scores.
Main Results:
- Mean dmft was 3.04, with 96% due to untreated decay.
- Highest dmft scores were observed in severely wasted and wasted children.
- Significant negative correlation found between BMIA z-score, WFH z-score, and dmft (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Increased dental caries severity in wasted children with ECC compared to normal or overweight children.
- Highlights the need for primary prevention programs for ECC in resource-limited, high-malnutrition settings.
- Emphasizes managing caries in malnourished children to improve nutritional outcomes.
Introduction:
Malnutrition in children is one of the most prevalent global health challenges, and malnourished children have a higher risk of death from childhood diseases. Early childhood caries (ECC) is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Complications from ECC such as pain, loss of tooth/teeth, and infection can undermine a child's nutrition and growth.
Aim:
This study aims to evaluate the severity of decay, missing, and filled tooth (dmft) by nutritional status using the z scores of the anthropometric measurements: height for age (HFA), weight for age (WFA), weight for height (WFH), and body mass index for age (BMIA) among children with ECC in Nigeria.
Study Design:
This is a cross-sectional study conducted in 5 local government areas (LGAs) in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used.
Results:
A total of 273 cases of ECC were included in the analyses (mean age 4.19 ± 0.96 y). Overall, the mean dmft was 3.04 ± 2.28, and most (96%) were accounted for by untreated decay. The distribution of dmft within the different z score categories of BMIA (<-3 = severely wasted, -2 to -3 = wasted, -2 to +2 = normal, +2 to +3 = overweight and >+3 = obese) showed the highest dmft scores among the combined severely wasted and wasted groups, lowest among children with normal z scores, and intermediate in the overweight and obese groups. There was a significant negative correlation between BMIA z score, WFH z score, and dmft (r = -0.181, P < 0.05 and r = -0.143, P < 0.05, respectively). However, the correlations between HFA z score, WFA z score, and dmft were positive but not significant (r = 0.048, P = 0.44 and r = 0.022, P = 0.77, respectively).
Conclusion:
Our study showed an increased severity of dental caries among severely wasted or wasted children with ECC compared to those of normal or overweight.
Knowledge Transfer Statement:
The results from this study will raise awareness among clinicians and policy makers on the need for a primary prevention program for early childhood caries in countries with high burden of malnutrition and limited resources. Also, it will help draw the attention of clinicians to the caries status of malnourished children that can be managed to improve the nutritional outcomes.
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