Poor Eating Habits Play A Role In Tooth Decay And Obesity

Many people think cavities only affect children, but changes that occur with aging make cavities an adult problem too. Recession of the gums (a pulling away of gum tissue from the teeth), often associated with an increased incidence of gingivitis (gum disease), can expose tooth roots to plaque. Also, sugary food cravings can make anyone more vulnerable to developing cavities.

 

Decay can also occur around the edges of fillings in older adults. Because many older adults lacked the benefits of fluoride and modern preventive dental care when they were growing up, they often have a number of dental fillings. Over the years, these fillings may weaken and can fracture, allowing bacteria to accumulate in the tiny crevices causing tooth decay.

 

Your dentist can discover cavities during your regular dental check-up. The tooth surface feels soft when probed by your dentist with a dental instrument. X-rays can also show cavities between teeth before they become visible to the eye.

 

In advanced stages of tooth decay, you might experience a toothache, especially after consuming sweet, hot, or cold foods or drinks. Other signs of tooth decay are visible pits or holes in the teeth.

 

Preschool children with tooth decay may be more likely to be overweight or obese than the general population and, regardless of weight, are more likely to consume too many calories, a new study indicates. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego. 

 

"Poor eating habits may play a role in both tooth decay and obesity in preschoolers," the study's lead author, Kathleen Bethin, MD, PhD, said. 

 

"Dental decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood, and obesity in youth is a growing problem. To prevent these problems, the dentist's office may be an important place to educate families about nutrition," said Bethin, a pediatrician at Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Buffalo in New York. 

 

With funding from the New York State Department of Health, the doctors at the Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo and University of Buffalo studied the relationship between poor dental health and overweight in 65 children who were 2 to 5 years old. All children needed dental work due to decay and had their dental procedure and blood work performed while they were under anesthesia. 

 

Each child's height and weight were measured before the procedure to calculate the body mass index, or BMI. For most people, BMI reliably indicates the amount of body fat. Also, the child's guardian completed a questionnaire about the child's recent average daily food consumption. 

 

Almost 28 percent of the children were overweight or obese compared with an estimated 21.2 percent in the general U.S. population. Those 18 children, who's BMI was high for their age (at the 85th percentile or above), already had much higher total cholesterol levels than their healthy-weight counterparts, Bethin reported. 

 

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