Association between Smoking during Pregnancy and Short Root Anomaly in Offspring.

Yuki Sagawa,Takuya Ogawa,Takeo Fujiwara,Miyu Yoshizawa Araki,Keiji Moriyama,Amarsaikhan Bazar,Yuko Unnai Yasuda,Tsasan Tumurkhuu,Yusuke Matsuyama,Ganjargal Ganburged,Junka Nakagawa Kang,Toshihiro Tanaka

doi:10.3390/ijerph182111662

Abstract

Short root anomaly (SRA) is a dental anomaly with short dental roots and its pathogenesis is poorly understood. This study investigated the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and SRA in offspring. A survey was conducted on 558 children aged 8–16 years from two public schools in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. SRA was diagnosed using cases with a root-crown ratio of maxillary central incisors of ≤1.0. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess maternal lifestyle habits. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyse the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and SRA in offspring after adjusting for possible confounders. The prevalence of SRA in these children was 14.2%. Children whose mothers smoked from pregnancy to date were found to be 4.95 times (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.65–14.79) more likely to have SRA than those whose mothers never smoked, after adjusting for possible confounders. Additionally, children whose mothers had been exposed to passive smoking during pregnancy were found to be 1.86 times (95% CI: 1.02–3.40) more likely to have SRA than those whose mothers had not been exposed to passive smoke. Our population-based study suggests that maternal and passive smoking exposure during pregnancy can affect tooth root formation in children.

Highlights

This study examined the association between maternal or passive smoking during pregnancy and the development of Short root anomaly (SRA) in maxillary central incisors
This study suggests that (1) maternal or passive smoking during pregnancy is significantly associated with SRA
In maxillary central incisors, and (2) root formation occurs after birth, it may be influenced by environmental factors in utero during pregnancy

Summary

Introduction

A tooth is composed of two main anatomical elements, the crown and the root. The root supports the crown and transmits occlusal forces through the periodontal ligament. It plays an important role as a structure containing the neurovascular bundle that supplies blood, nutrition, and sensation to the crown. The process of root formation is significantly complicated and involves various factors that perform crucial functions in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal interactions [1]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion