title: Motherhood and dental disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether motherhood is associated with tooth mortality, dental caries or destructive periodontal disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  An analytical cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Magomeni mother and child health clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
  
  
  METHODS
  An age stratified total sample consisting of 500 mothers and pregnant women. Outcome measures Loss of a tooth, caries in a tooth or loss of periodontal attachment on a tooth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Controlling for current age and age at first child birth using multiple logistic regression and fitting cluster-specific models, no association was found between the number of children a woman had and loss of teeth [OR: 0.7-0.8 (95% CI: 0.3, 1.5)]. Nor was there any association with caries [OR: 1.0-1.1 (95% CI: 0.4, 1.9)]. Attachment loss among women having given birth to four or more children was, however more common than among women with fewer children [OR: 1.5-1.7 (95% CI: 1.0, 2.7)].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No evidence supporting the hypothesis that the more children a woman has the more teeth she loses was found. Nor was an association between the number of children and caries found. There may, however, be an association between motherhood and periodontal destruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Oral Health and Pediatric Dentistry, Dental School, Aarhus, Denmark. scheutz@odont.au.uk
authors.forename: Flemming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scheutz
authors.forename: Vibeke
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Baelum
authors.forename: Mecky I M
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Matee
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mwangosi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008423:Maternal Age; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010298:Parity; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013636:Tanzania; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology