Associations Between Caries Experience, Nutritional Status, Oral Hygiene, and Diet in a Multigenerational Cohort.

Abstract

PURPOSE: To assess intergenerational associations between dental caries and nutritional status, oral hygiene habits, and diet. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with three generations of 54 families. Inclusion criteria were senior citizens with an adult son/daughter who also had a child (five to 12 years old). Dental caries was assessed using the decayed, missing, filled, primary teeth (dmft) and permanent teeth (DMFT) indexes. Nutritional status was evaluated using the body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and percentage of body fat. Dietary habits, oral hygiene habits, and socioeconomic status were evaluated using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: Children/adolescents with higher BMI had a lower dmft/DMFT index, and those who never or almost never consumed fruits and vegetables as snacks had a higher dmft/ DMFT index. When parents did not visit the dentist regularly, children/adolescents had more teeth affected by dental caries. When parents consumed sugar two or more times between meals, the number of affected teeth in children/adolescents increased. CONCLUSIONS: When children/ adolescents had a higher body mass index and they consumed fruits/vegetables as snacks more frequently, their caries experiences were lower. When their parents' did not visit the dentist regularly and they consumed sugar between meals more frequently, the children's caries experiences were higher.