Long-term effects of maternal prevention on children's dental decay and need for restorative treatment
Objectives In a Finnish study carried out in 1990s, high‐caries‐risk mothers used xylitol gum on daily basis when their child was 3–24‐month old, whereas the high‐risk control mothers received biannual fluoride or chlorhexidine treatments. The maternal prevention reduced colonization of mutans strep...
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Published in | Community dentistry and oral epidemiology Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 534 - 540 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Denmark
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.12.2013
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objectives
In a Finnish study carried out in 1990s, high‐caries‐risk mothers used xylitol gum on daily basis when their child was 3–24‐month old, whereas the high‐risk control mothers received biannual fluoride or chlorhexidine treatments. The maternal prevention reduced colonization of mutans streptococci and early childhood caries in children. The present retrospective study aimed to extend the post‐trial follow‐up to 10‐year‐old children (n = 148). Additionally, the dental health of these high‐caries‐risk children was compared with a reference group comprising the rest of the children in the same age cohort (n = 359).
Methods
The annual data on dental health and treatments were gathered from public dental care registers.
Results
The median caries‐free age (dmft = 0 and DMFT = 0) was 8.2 in the xylitol, 5.8 in the control, and 8.1 in the reference group (xylitol versus control, P = 0.005, HR = 1.75; 95% CI 1.18–2.60, reference versus xylitol, P = 0.410, HR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.84–1.51 Cox regression). Thus, the children in the xylitol group had caries‐free teeth longer than the control group. Compared to the reference group, the xylitol group did not show notable difference. Up to 4 years of age, figures for cumulative restorative treatment visits were 0.2 in the xylitol, 0.7 in the control, and 0.4 in the reference group (xylitol versus control P = 0.006, Student's t‐test).
Conclusions
The reduced mother–child transmission of mutans streptococci seems to have long‐term effects on children's dental health. The maternal use of xylitol reduces caries occurrence and need for restorative treatment in assumed high‐caries‐risk children to the average level of the whole age cohort. |
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Bibliography: | istex:3BAAFDAF3F6CEC5D9621F9D3D95B8447088E638A ArticleID:CDOE12057 the Academy of Finland the Association of Dentists in Health Centers ark:/67375/WNG-HQWHZTBD-W the Finnish Dental Society ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0301-5661 1600-0528 |
DOI: | 10.1111/cdoe.12057 |