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Journal of Dental Research
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Clinical

Healthy Eating Index Is a Predictor of Early Childhood Caries

M.E. Nunn1,2,3,*, N.S. Braunstein2, E.A. Krall Kaye1,2,3, T. Dietrich1,2,3, R.I. Garcia1,3 and M.M. Henshaw1,3

1 Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston University, 715 Albany, 560, Boston, MA 02118, USA;
2 Department of Medical Nutrition Sciences, School of Medicine, Boston University; and
3 Northeast Center for Research to Evaluate and Eliminate Dental Disparities, http://www.creedd.org

Correspondence: nunn{at}bu.edu

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a preventable form of dental caries that affects very young children, particularly among low-income families and certain racial/ethnic minorities. The current study examined the relationship of dietary quality, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), to the prevalence of ECC in 2- to 5-year-old children. Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) were used for the study. We used logistic regression to compute adjusted odds ratios (OR) for ECC and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Children with the best dietary practices (uppermost tertile of the HEI) were 44% less likely to exhibit severe ECC compared with children with the worst dietary practices (lowest tertile of the HEI). A healthy eating pattern geared for promotion of optimal child development and prevention of chronic disease in later life may also reduce the risk of early childhood caries, particularly severe early childhood caries.

Key Words: early childhood caries • Healthy Eating Index • oral health disparities

Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 88, No. 4, 361-366 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0022034509334043
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