Abstract
Dental health of children has significantly improved in industrialized countries through decades due to a substantial focus on the identification of risk factors and the improvement of preventive strategies. However, poor dental health is still a major problem worldwide and has a substantial impact on children’s well-being and quality of life. Children with dental diseases often need treatment very early in life, may experience pain, and over time develop anxiety for going to the dentist, which is a considerable burden for the child that may persist into adulthood. The two most common dental diseases among children are dental caries and enamel hypomineralization with prevalence of up to 90% and 42%, respectively.
Caries is a demineralization of the tooth structure resulting from acid, produced by the metabolism of sugar by specific bacteria on the tooth surface. Caries is often referred to as a lifestyle disease related to dietary habits and the standard of oral hygiene, while little is known about the impact of other early life risk factors. Enamel hypomineralization of developmental origin is present when the affected tooth erupts, and the lesions are hypomineralized with white, yellow, and/or-brown opacities. The mineral density in enamel hypomineralization is lower than in sound enamel, and in worst case the hypomineralized enamel will breakdown after eruption. The etiology of enamel hypomineralization is largely unknown and thereby no identified possible prevention is available.
The overall objective of this thesis was to determine risk factors for dental caries and enamel hypomineralization in the population-based COpenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 (COPSAC2010) mother-child cohort in the prenatal period and the first three years of life of the children, and thereby contribute to prevention strategies for the dental diseases. 700 children were followed from birth and attended several clinical
7
examinations with extensive clinical data collection. They were invited for a comprehensive dental examination at age six years.
Caries is a demineralization of the tooth structure resulting from acid, produced by the metabolism of sugar by specific bacteria on the tooth surface. Caries is often referred to as a lifestyle disease related to dietary habits and the standard of oral hygiene, while little is known about the impact of other early life risk factors. Enamel hypomineralization of developmental origin is present when the affected tooth erupts, and the lesions are hypomineralized with white, yellow, and/or-brown opacities. The mineral density in enamel hypomineralization is lower than in sound enamel, and in worst case the hypomineralized enamel will breakdown after eruption. The etiology of enamel hypomineralization is largely unknown and thereby no identified possible prevention is available.
The overall objective of this thesis was to determine risk factors for dental caries and enamel hypomineralization in the population-based COpenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 (COPSAC2010) mother-child cohort in the prenatal period and the first three years of life of the children, and thereby contribute to prevention strategies for the dental diseases. 700 children were followed from birth and attended several clinical
7
examinations with extensive clinical data collection. They were invited for a comprehensive dental examination at age six years.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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| Antal sider | 69 |
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| Status | Udgivet - 26 aug. 2022 |