Consumption of Cariogenic Ultra-processed Foods and Maternal Report of Dental Caries and Dental Pain among Preschool Children

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the association between cariogenic ultra-processed foods (UPF) consumption and maternal reports of dental caries and dental pain among preschool children. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 505 mothers of children aged 3 to 5 years enrolled in the Municipal Public School System in a large southern Brazilian city (Curitiba, Paraná). Socioeconomic data, maternal reports on dental caries and dental pain among children, and frequency of consumption of cariogenic UPFs among those children were collected. Univariate and multivariate Poisson regression analyses with robust variance were used for the data analysis (α=0.05) and presented in prevalence ratio (PR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: The presence of dental caries and dental pain among children in the upper tercile of consumption of cariogenic UPFs was, respectively, 11.6% (95%CI:1.028-1.213) and 8% (95%CI:1.001-1.165) higher than that in the lower tercile. Dental caries and dental pain increased, respectively, by 12% (95%CI:1.074-1.169) and 10.3% (95%CI:1.060-1.149) for each year of the child. Moreover, a higher household income was a protective factor for dental caries (PRa:0.978; 95%CI:0.959-0.997) and for dental pain as well (PRa:0.977; 95%CI:0.958-0.997) among the children. Conclusion: A higher consumption of cariogenic ultra-processed foods (UPFs) was found to be associated with maternal reports of dental caries and dental pain among preschool children.