Mother's Vitamin D Status Affects Baby's Dental Health

Filed in archive Medical Issues , Pregnancy and Nutrition on August 26, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Suprijono Suharjoto

Here's one reason you should keep an eye on your own Vitamin D intake: Research shows that low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay.

Two hundred six pregnant women in their second trimester participated in the study. Only 21 women (10.5%) were found to have adequate vitamin D levels. Vitamin D concentrations were related to the frequency of milk consumption and pre-natal vitamin use. The investigators examined 135 infants (55.6% male) at 16.1 ± 7.4 months of age, and found that 21.6% of them had enamel defects, while 33.6% had early-childhood tooth decay. Mothers of children with enamel defects had lower, but not significantly different, mean vitamin D concentrations during pregnancy than those of children without defects.

However, mothers of children with early-childhood tooth decay had significantly lower vitamin D levels than those whose children were cavity-free. Infants with enamel defects were significantly more likely to have early-childhood tooth decay.

Isn't it amazing how your nutrition levels confers a large impact on the health of your baby years down the road? Considering the rising costs of dental treatments, some of which aren't covered by mainstream health insurance, it's good to know that these can possibly be avoided. Besides, you don't want your child to be sitting on the dentist's chair too early, do you?