Does gestational nutrition affect the oral health of the new-born? An integrative review

Abstract

Maternal nutrition and diet directly impact the development of the foetus. Thus, nutritional deficits, as well as maternal overweight or low weight, directly reflect the health of the new-born. Furthermore, maternal nutrition may be linked to the individual’s oral health outcome. Maternal nutrition is linked to the process of odontogenesis and the development of taste preferences in the child. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the association between maternal nutrition and the infant’s oral health. An active search was performed in the following databases: PubMed, Scielo, Lilacs (Bireme), Web of Science, and Scopus, using the keywords “Breast Feeding”, “Nutrition” and “New-born”, associated with “Paediatric Dentistry”. Exclusion criteria based on time and document type were used to conduct the searches. A total of 634 studies underwent the filtering and selection process, resulting in 5 studies included in this review. Due to the small number of studies found, the development of new studies in the field of dentistry addressing the subject is suggested. Furthermore, it was observed that maternal nutrition influences the oral health of the baby, acting as a protective factor against oral pathologies. Keywords: Child; Maternal Nutrition; Nutrition; Oral Health; Pediatric Dentistry