Prevalence of early childhood caries and obesity in preschoolers of Bragança Paulista - SP and the relationship between these diseases and salivary IgA as well as Streptococcus mutans

• Grant number: 15/12349-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Pediatric Dentistry
• Principal Investigator: Thaís Parisotto Ulmer
• Grantee: Camila Lopes Crescente
• Host Institution: Universidade São Francisco (USF). Campus Bragança Paulista. Bragança Paulista , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Early childhood caries and obesity have been public health challenges in recent years. The early diagnosis enables effective preventive and control measures against these diseases, since they have etiologic factors in common, such as sugar consumption. The objectives of this research project are: 1. to evaluate the prevalence of early childhood caries and obesity and 2. evaluate the relationship between these diseases and the concentration of secretory Immunoglobulin A (IgA ) in the saliva and Streptococcus mutans counts in dental biofilm. The sample consists of 384 children, aging 3-5 years, attending public preschools in Bragança Paulista - SP. Children will be submitted to clinical examinations for diagnosis of caries using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, modified by the inclusion of active white spot lesions. A previously calibrated examiner will perform these examinations. Children will be classified as normal weight or obese through weight and height measurements (using digital scale and tape measure) according to WHO standards. Additional anthropometric measurements: waist-hip circumference and triceps skinfold will be evaluated. The sugar exposure will be assessed by means of a dietary chart, which will contain all that the children eat and drink for 3 consecutive days. For the analysis of salivary IgA and Streptococcus mutans, 80 children selected from 384, will be divided into 2 groups: 1. caries active (n = 40) and 2. caries free (n = 40), 40 % of each group should be obese. The biofilm of the upper central incisors will be collected to quantify Streptococcus mutans through cultivation in specific medium. Saliva will be collected without stimulation to quantify IgA levels by ELISA test. The data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, logistic regression and Spearman correlation test (a = 0.05).