Early Weight Gain Forecasts Accelerated Eruption of Deciduous Teeth and Later Overweight Status during the First Year

Abstract

Objectives: To determine whether early diet and weight gain velocity have independent or interactive effects on deciduous teeth emergence and overweight status during the first year.

Study design: Monthly measures of anthropometry and teeth eruption were collected during a 1-year trial (0.5-12.5 months) on formula-fed infants in which the type of randomized infant formula (cow milk or extensively hydrolyzed protein) diet significantly affected early (0.5-4.5 months) weight gain velocity. Generalized linear mixed models determined whether early diet and weight gain velocity had independent or interactive effects on timing and pattern of teeth eruption. Data from a trial on breastfed infants were used to explore effects of breast milk vs infant formula diets on teeth eruption and overweight status at 10.5 months.

Results: Independent of infant formula diet, velocities of weight gain had direct effects on the age of first deciduous tooth (P < .04) and number of erupted teeth over time (P < .002). Greater velocity of weight gain from 0.5 to 4.5 months caused earlier and more frequent eruption of deciduous teeth from 4.5 to 12.5 months. Exploratory follow-up analyses on the breastfed and formula-fed diet groups found early weight gain velocity (P = .001), but not diet or its interaction, had significant effects. Infants in the upper quartile for weight gain velocity had more primary teeth (P = .002), and a greater proportion of them were overweight (P < .001) at 10.5 months.

Conclusions: Faster weight gain accretion forecasted accelerated primary teeth eruption and increased percentage of children who were overweight-risk factors for dental caries and obesity.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.govNCT01700205 [2012-2015] and NCT01667549 [2012-2015].

Keywords: breast milk; deciduous teeth; developmental milestones; diet; infant formula; overweight status; weight gain velocity.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1; online.

Trial profiles: Flow of participants from enrollment at 0.5 months to 12.5 months in the trial on FF infants and to 10.5 months in the trial on BF infants.

Figure 2.

Association between grouping based on age at first tooth eruption and numbers and type (incisors, molars) of erupted deciduous teeth at 12.5 months (mean ± 95% CI) among FF infants (age group × tooth type interaction; P<0.001).

Figure 3.

Cumulative number of teeth (y-axis) by percentile category of early weight gain velocity (z-axis) from 4.5 to 12.5 months (x-axis) among FF infants. GLMM revealed significant weight gain velocity (P=0.002), time (P<0.001) and velocity × time interaction (P=0.02).

Figure 4.

Number of erupted deciduous teeth (A: mean ± 95% CI) and proportion of infants who were overweight (B) at 10.5 months, by percentile category of early weight gain velocity among FF and BF infants. Higher weight gain velocity (>75th) percentiles associated with more deciduous teeth (P=0.001) and greater proportion of overweight children (P<0.001).