A Review of Stunting Growth in Children: Relationship to the Incidence of Dental Caries and its Handling in Children

Abstract

Introduction: Nutritional problems that may arise due to the low quality of food consumed is called stunting on children. Stunting describes the inadequacy of body heigh according to its age due to malnutrition or chronic malnutrition. Stunting is often not known in the society where the treatment of such issue is very general thus considered as normal. Stunting also affects oral health of children. Objective: To review the relationship of dental and oral condition with the incidence of stunting on children. Methods: Scientific evidence and clinical cases are drawn from the literature to support this review and gather scientific information about the relationship of teeth to the incidence of stunting in children. Results: There are several relationships of dental or oral conditions in children with the incidence of stunting experienced. Some of them are related to the incidence of dental caries in children, delayed eruption of permanent teeth, and have an influence on the flow rate of saliva in children. Conclusion: The incidence of stunting in children is a condition that describes the lack of nutritional status that has a chronic nature during the growth and development of children since the beginning of life. Scientific studies from several literatures prove that there are some relationships between the incidence of stunting in children with the state of oral health of children.