Paediatric research reveals infant tooth decay linked to obesity and malnutrition
Dr. Kathleen Bethin, an associate professor of paediatrics at the University at Buffalo and director of the paediatric endocrinology and diabetes fellowship program at Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo, presented stifling research findings about infant tooth decay at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Diego on Tuesday.
Dr. Bethin and her team conducted a sample study with 65 infants between the ages of two and five with cavities in need of treatment. Out of this sample of infants, 28 percent showed an overweight or obese body mass index (BMI). The result is 5 percent more than the national average, and also indicated that these children exceeded the recommended calorie range of 1,200 by 71 percent for children of their age. The study emphasised that the difference wasn’t as much due to overeating as to the wrong type of food choices.
The findings of the research are important because of lack of published information associating infant tooth decay with obesity and diabetes. In her presentation, Dr. Breslin said that, “…the dental office . . . may be an ideal place to educate families about nutrition and the risks of obesity and dental decay.” With childhood obesity and cavities on the rise in the United States, further research is on this topic is necessary.
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