Vitamin D Supplementation, Characteristics of Mastication, and Parent-Supervised Toothbrushing as Crucial Factors in the Prevention of Caries in 12- to 36-Month-Old Children

Piotr Sobiech, Dorota Olczak-Kowalczyk*, Marie Therese Hosey, Dariusz Gozdowski, Anna Turska-Szybka*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Severe early childhood caries (S-ECC), defined as any sign of smooth-surface caries in a child younger than three years of age, remains a serious health issue. The aim of this study was to indicate oral health behaviours related to S-ECC. The study surveyed parents (socio-economic and medical factors, oral health behaviours) and clinically examined children including non-cavitated d1,2/cavitated d ≥ 3 lesions. %S-ECC, and caries indices (d1,2 d ≥ 3 mft and d1,2 d ≥ 3 mfs) were calculated. Spearman’s correlation and simple and multiple logistic regression were used to assess the relationships between various factors and S-ECC. A total of 496 children were examined. S-ECC occurred in 44.8%: d1,2 d ≥ 3 mft = 2.62 ± 3.88, d1,2 d ≥ 3 mfs = 4.46 ± 8.42. S-ECC was correlated with socio-economic factors, vitamin D supplementation, breastfeeding and using formula after the 18th month, and toothbrushing. Supplementation of vitamin D and toothbrushing tended to decrease the odds of S-ECC (OR = 0.49 (0.27–0.87); p = 0.016, OR = 0.46 (0.24–0.86) p = 0.015, respectively). Feeding exclusively with formula was observed to increase the odds of S-ECC (OR = 2.20 (1.29–3.76); p = 0.004). Consuming > three snacks daily (OR = 1.39 (0.97–1.98); p = 0.072) and the reluctance to eat resilient foods (OR = 1.63 (1.05–2.51); p = 0.028) were nullified by the confounding factors. Vitamin D supplementation, mastication of resilient food, breastfeeding in the first six months of a baby’s life, and parent-supervised toothbrushing are factors in the prevention of caries in toddlers. Breast- and bottle-feeding after the 18th month of life, the reluctance to eat solids, lack of vitamin D supplementation, hygienic neglect, and delay in introducing oral health behaviours may contribute to the development of caries in toddlers.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4358
JournalNutrients
Volume14
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

Keywords

  • diet
  • mastication
  • oral hygiene
  • parent-supervised toothbrushing (PSB)
  • resilient food
  • severe early childhood caries
  • vitamin D supplementation

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