Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to determine changes in odontogenesis arising from prenatal and postnatal protein-calorie malnutrition. Materials and methods: Twelve adult Wistar rats were selected; 8 females and 4 males. The females were divided into two groups, one of which received a normoproteic diet (NG) and the other received a hypoproteic diet (HG). After the birth of the litters, 24 pups were randomly separated from each group. The animals were sacrificed, 12 at five-days old and 12 at eight-days old, and their jaws were subjected to histological preparation to obtain cuts of tooth germs. Forty-eight slides were selected that presented the germs properly cut (24 from each group), which were analyzed by microscopy and measured by a calibrated examiner. The differences between means were verified by the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. Results: The results showed that at 5 days the differences in thickness of enamel and dentin were statistically significant between NG (84.08 ± 28.9 and 141.51 ± 33.2; p = 0.026) and HG (47.26 ± 43.8 and 91.19 ± 54.7; p = 0.006). At 8 days of life there were no significant differences between the groups. Conclusion: The results showed evidence of the impact of malnutrition on the thickness of dental tissues. It is suggested that further work is carried out in this line of research with more complex designs.
Highlights
Child malnutrition is defined as an imbalance between the need for nutrients and consumption, resulting in an accumulated deficit of energy, protein and micronutrients that may adversely affect the growth and development of children [1]
The most severe form of malnutrition is protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) [3], which is a pathological condition resulting from insufficient protein and dietary energy fuels not meeting the needs of the body [4]
Some studies have identified that undernourished rats, before and after birth, have marked reduction in teeth size, which has been attributed to a decrease in volume of dentin but not to the thickness of the enamel [12,16]
Summary
Child malnutrition is defined as an imbalance between the need for nutrients and consumption, resulting in an accumulated deficit of energy, protein and micronutrients that may adversely affect the growth and development of children [1]. Some studies have identified that undernourished rats, before and after birth, have marked reduction in teeth size, which has been attributed to a decrease in volume of dentin but not to the thickness of the enamel [12,16]. This may be related to changes in the secretion of collagen [11]. The objective of this study was to determine the alterations in odontogenesis arising from prenatal and postnatal (pre-eruptive) PCM in relation to the thickness of dental tissues in Wistar rats. This study was approved by the Ethics in Research of UEPG, through the Ethics Committee on Animal Use (protocol SCEEA/COEP no. 03/2008)
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