dental bulletin  #6

The Risks of Skipping Breakfast and Tooth Decay in Children

Many schools that participate in our school-based dental program also provide breakfast for low-income students which helps them to better concentrate and learn in class.  Did you know that these meals may also be helping to fend off tooth decay?

A recently published study has some revealing information on children’s eating habits, their effect on tooth decay and which children are most at risk for developing decay.

A key finding of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that young children who skip breakfast might be increasing their risk for tooth decay. The study investigated how healthy eating affects tooth decay in primary teeth among children age 2 to 5.

"Specifically, not eating breakfast every day was found to be associated with overall caries (tooth decay) experience and untreated decay in the primary dentition in children aged two through five years," the authors wrote. "Our findings support the notion that even if the effects of poverty could be mitigated, healthful eating practices among preschoolers would contribute to further reduction in caries."

In the analysis of more than 4,000 preschoolers, the authors found that poor eating practices "including not eating breakfast and eating fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day", were associated with caries in primary teeth among children not living in poverty. These same children were more likely to experience tooth decay than poor children.

"Poverty may be the more important cofactor in indicating caries risk, but healthful eating practices are an important factor in the overall, complex process that leads to caries experience in young children," concluded the authors.