Breast-feeding and other mother-child factors associated with developmental enamel defects in the primary teeth of Brazilian children.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between developmental defects in the enamel (DDE) of the primary teeth and low birth weight or prematurity.

METHODS

A case-control study was carried out in Itajaí, Southern Brazil, involving 3- to 5-year-old children. The case group was composed of 102 children presenting at least 1 dental surface with DDE. The control group comprised 113 children without DDE matched by sex and age and enrolled in the same day care centers. All teeth were clinically examined using the Modified Index of Developmental Defects of Enamel. The outcome variable of the study was DDE in at least 1 dental surface, and the independent variables were: (1) birth weight; (2) gestational age; and (3) breast-feeding. Maternal schooling and health problems of the mother during pregnancy and of the child during the first year of life were collected as potential confounding factors. Simple and conditional multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, providing crude and adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

Prematurity (OR=2.6; 95% CI=1.0-6.4) and children who did not breast-feed (OR=3.2; 95% CI=1.2-8.4) were associated with defects in tooth enamel after adjusting for possible confounding variables.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, premature children and those who did not breast-feed could be considered at risk for developing defects in tooth enamel.