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Factors Associated with Developmental Instability in the Dental Arches of Children
Author(s) -
Miller Steven F.,
Moreno Uribe Lina M.,
Bay Camden,
Broffitt Barbara,
Levy Steven M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.902.7
Subject(s) - fluctuating asymmetry , arch , dental arch , medicine , malocclusion , dentistry , biology , civil engineering , evolutionary biology , engineering
Dental arch asymmetry is often associated with malocclusion and is implicated in numerous functional deficiencies including speaking and mastication. While the existence of asymmetric dental arch shape has been well documented in malocclusion, less is known about the potential factors tied to its expression. Developmental instability refers to the suite of epigenetic factors that can disrupt the normal growth pattern of an individual and cause an increase in asymmetry. In this study, we examine the relationship of numerous health and dietary factors with developmental instability in the dental arches of children. A sample of 406 dental casts of children at age 5 from the Iowa Fluoride Study were digitized with 22 landmarks along the gingival papillae and then submitted to a Procrustes ANOVA to quantify dental arch Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA). Using FA as a metric of developmental instability, we separated individuals into low and high FA groups and then ran a series of two sample T‐Tests to see if individuals with high FA had poorer dietary or health related factors when compared to individuals with low FA. Results indicate that antibiotic usage was higher on average in children in the high FA group when compared to children with low dental arch FA (p=0.037), indicating that higher instances of childhood infection and disease may result in more asymmetric dental arches. Likewise, children with lower Vitamin D consumption had increased FA compared to children with higher levels of Vitamin D in their diet (p=0.039). These results confirm that infectious disease and diet can play a role in the normal development of the dental arches. Deficits in important nutrients, like Vitamin D, as well as elevated exposure to infectious disease, can be tied to increased dental arch asymmetry. These factors should be considered not only for the general health of a growing child, but also with regard to their proper masticatory development. Support or Funding Information Supported by a Carver Charitable Trust Grant #12‐4058 and the NIH through Grants 2 UL1 TR000442, 1T90DE023520, R01‐DE09551 and U01‐DE018903.