Nutritional status dental caries and tooth eruption in children: a longitudinal study in Cambodia Indonesia and Lao PDR

摘要

BackgroundUntreated dental caries is reported to affect children’s nutritional status and growth, yet evidence on this relationship is conflicting. The aim of this study was to assess the association between dental caries in both the primary and permanent dentition and nutritional status (including underweight, normal weight, overweight and stunting) in children from Cambodia, Indonesia and Lao PDR over a period of 2 years. A second objective was to assess whether nutritional status affects the eruption of permanent teeth.