Chronic malnutrition, dental caries, and tooth exfoliation in Peruvian children aged 3-9 years

Abstract

A cross-sectional evaluation of dental caries in primary teeth and nutritional status was conducted involving 285 Peruvian children from low socioeconomic conditions aged 3-9 y. Forty-nine percent of the children were found to be chronically malnourished (stunted) whereas acute malnutrition (wasting) was infrequent (2%). Stunted children showed a delayed exfoliation of primary teeth. The caries prevalence curve as a function of age (ie, a plot of decayed, extracted, and filled teeth vs age) was found to be shifted to the right by ~15 mo in stunted children as compared with well-nourished children. Children aged 7-9 y with stunted growth showed a significantly higher percentage of carious teeth than did well-nourished children of the same age (40 and 29%, respectively; p < 0.005). Nutritional deficits that lead to chronic malnutrition not only may affect tooth exfoliation but also apper to render the primary teeth more susceptible to caries attack later in life.