title: Adverse birth outcomes and childhood caries: a cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between adverse birth outcomes and dental caries in primary teeth.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included children in Khon Kaen, Thailand, who participated in the Prospective Cohort Study of Thai Children. Preterm was defined as a birth at <37 weeks gestation, low birthweight (LBW) as birthweight <2500 g, and small-for-gestational age (SGA) as birthweight <10th percentile of expected weight for gestational age. Two calibrated dentists measured dental caries in primary teeth when the children were 3-4 years old using decayed, missing and filled surfaces (dmfs) index following the World Health Organization criteria. We used negative binomial regression with generalize linear models to estimate relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for confounding factors. Of 758 children with gestational age data and 833 with birthweight data, the 544 (follow-up rate of 71.8% in preterm and 65.3% in LBW) who had dental data available were included in the analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dental caries was observed in 480 children (88.2%), with a mean dmfs of 14.3 (standard deviation 12.8). The adjusted RR for dental caries was 0.61 (95% CI 0.43, 0.85) for preterm, 0.89 (95% CI 0.67, 1.21) for LBW, and 0.96 (95% CI 0.74, 1.26) for SGA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was an inverse association between preterm and childhood caries. LBW and SGA were not associated with dental caries in this population.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand, and Department of Family and Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
authors.forename: Areerat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nirunsittirat
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.|Chronic Inflammatory and Systemic Disease Associated with Oral Health Research Group, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors.forename: Waranuch
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pitiphat
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Science, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Christy Michelle
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McKinney
authors.affiliation: Oral Health Science, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: DeRouen
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors.forename: Nusara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chansamak
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors.forename: Onauma
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Angwaravong
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
authors.forename: Piyachat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Patcharanuchat
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine and Public Health, Ubon Ratchathani University, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.
authors.forename: Taksin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pimpak
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008297:Male; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: children; dental caries; low birthweight; preterm; primary teeth; small-for-gestational age