Schüler IM, et al. - This case-control observational study was performed to evaluate the dental health in the primary dentition of preterm infants (PTI) including investigation of mother- and infant-related risk factors. Compared to full-term infants (FTI), PTI had less healthy teeth and was at a higher risk for DDE, caries, and gingivitis. In PTI, the poorer dental health was correlated with a low birth weight, a low socioeconomic status, and mothers' illness during pregnancy.

Methods

• The researchers included 128 infants (3-4 years) in this study.
• They randomly selected 64 PTI (27 males) from the preterm registry of the Jena University Hospital.
• As a control group served 64 full-term infants (FTI) recruited from the Department of Paediatric Dentistry, matched for age and sex.
• Under standard clinical conditions, dental examinations were provided by 1 dentist.
• They scored caries using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II) and the DMFT, gingival health using the Periodontal Screening Index, and developmental defects of enamel using the DDE index.
• They collected mother- and infant-related factors via a questionnaire and from medical records.

Results

• In PTI, the caries prevalence was 50.0% (ICDAS II >0) and 12.5% (ICDAS II >0) in FTI.
• As per findings, the caries experience was higher in PTI (DMFT 1.0 ± 3.1) than in FTI (DMFT 0.3 ± 1.0).
• Compared to FTI, PTI had a higher risk of caries (OR 7.0), initial lesions (OR 6.2), DDE (OR 7.5), and gingivitis (OR 6.5).
• In PTI, the highest risk occurred with an extremely low birth weight (<1,000 g).
• When mothers suffered from illness during pregnancy (OR 3.9), a higher risk of DDE was present.
• They observed a higher risk of caries in infants with respiratory syndrome (OR 6.2) or when their mothers had a lower socioeconomic status (OR 6.3).