Cariogenic Bacteria And Diet According To Nutritional Status In Pre-School Children

Dental caries is a multifactorial disease, and diet, closely associated with nutritional status (NS), plays an essential role. However, the relation between these factors has not been thoroughly studied to date. To clarify the relationship between NS and cariogenic bacteria, eighty four children aged 59.2 ± 12.8 months, attending a day care center, were examined. They were classified by Body Mass Index Z‐scores (WHO, 2007) in adequate (A), overweight (OW) or obese (O). Carbohydrate consumption frequency between meals/day (CH), cariogenic risk (CR), and colony‐forming unit/ml saliva (CFU) of streptococci and lactobacilli were assessed. NS showed 46% of children A, 30% OW and 18% O. Although CH did not differ significantly among groups (p>0.05), O presented less children with high CR (A:62, OW:77 and O:50%, p<0.05). The number of CFU of Streptococcus mutans group did not differ significantly, but CFU of Lactobacillus acidophilus was reduced in O (O:2241±1586 vs A:3700±1710 and OW:2715±1793, p<0.05). Thus, these results suggest an association among NS, diet and microbiology composition of dental biofilm that leads to a negative relationship between obesity and caries risk.