Peer-reviewed article
Dietary inflammatory potential and oral-periodontal health in children: a cross-sectional study based on the children's dietary inflammatory index dietary inflammatory potential and oral-periodontal health in children.
Hilal Erdem Tuç, Ayça Kurt, Yagmur Demirel Ozbek ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between the inflammatory potential of children's diets and their oral health in 300 healthy children aged 6-14 years. Researchers used dietary records to calculate inflammatory scores and measured dental health through clinical examinations. Children with more inflammatory diets showed worse gum health indicators like bleeding and inflammation, particularly in younger children. The findings suggest that dietary patterns high in inflammatory foods may contribute to early periodontal problems in children.
Key points
- Higher dietary inflammatory potential was significantly associated with worse plaque and gingival indices in children aged 6-10 years
- In older children (11-14 years), dietary inflammatory potential correlated with gingival inflammation and bleeding on probing
- C-DII scores showed significant negative correlation with DMFT (decayed/missing/filled teeth) score (p=0.035)
- Proinflammatory dietary patterns were linked to early periodontal changes across age groups
- Study involved 300 systemically healthy children with assessment of diet via three-day dietary records and clinical oral examinations
Limitations
The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality or determine whether inflammatory diets cause poor oral health or vice versa. The study does not specify the country or geographic setting, limiting generalizability.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Diet-related inflammatory processes have been implicated in the development of oral and periodontal diseases; however, data in pediatric populations remain limited. The Children's Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII) is a validated tool designed to assess the inflammatory potential of diet in children. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the association between dietary inflammatory potential and oral-periodontal health parameters in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 300 systemically healthy children aged 6-14 years were included. Sociodemographic characteristics and oral hygiene habits were recorded. Clinical examinations assessed DMFT/dmft, Plaque Index (PI), Gingival Index (GI), and Bleeding on Probing (BOP). Dietary intake was evaluated using three-day dietary records, and C-DII scores were calculated after energy standardization per 1000 kcal. Statistical analyses were performed using Jamovi (version 2.3.28), with significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: C-DII scores showed a significant negative correlation with DMFT (p = 0.035) and a positive correlation with PI (p = 0.030). Quartile comparisons demonstrated significant differences in PI (p = 0.007), GI (p = 0.02), and BOP (p = 0.034) among children aged 6-10 years. In the 11-14-year group, GI (p = 0.002) and BOP (p = 0.01) values differed significantly across C-DII quartiles. CONCLUSIONS: Higher dietary inflammatory potential was associated with less favorable periodontal parameters in children. These findings suggest that proinflammatory dietary patterns may be linked to early periodontal changes. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Assessment of dietary inflammatory potential may help identify children at increased periodontal risk and support preventive nutritional strategies in pediatric dental care.