Taheri ES1, Sohrabi S2, Saeednia S3, Zolfaghari P4 and Sohrabi MB5*
1School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Iran
2School of Dentistry, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran
3Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Iran
4Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Iran
5School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Iran
*Corresponding author: Mohammad Bagher Sohrabi, School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran
Submission: August 18, 2021; Published: November 23, 2021
ISSN: 2577-9200 Volume6 Issue1
Background & aim: Cigarette smoke, due to its oxidative stress-causing substances, causes
undesirable changes in the infant tooth development and may cause delay in the growth of teeth. This
project was conducted with the aim of investigating the association between secondhand parent’s
smoking and growth of infant teeth.
Methods & materials: This is a case-control study that was conducted to determine the impact of
secondhand parents’ smoking and growth of infant teeth in children referred to the dental clinic of Bahar
Hospital of Shahroud in 2019. Eligible patients were selected by simple census method to complete the
sample size, based on having or not having a history of dental growth disorder, they were divided into
case and control groups and entered the study and history of secondhand parents’ smoking.
Results: The mean age of the children was 37.6±6.21 months. Exposure of secondhand parents’
smoking were 83 cases (80.6%) in the case group and 51 (49.5%) in the control group, which was
significantly higher (p=0.001) in the case group. It was found that secondhand smoking could significantly
increase the incidence of delay of teeth growth odds ratio [OR=1.55 (95% Confidence: 1.313-1.857)]
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that secondhand parent’s smoking can increase the
risk of delay of teeth growth and increase its odds ratio by about 1.5 times, but more definitive research
is needed to confirm this finding.
Keywords: Secondhand parent’s smoking; Teeth growth; Infant
Smoking is one of the most common health problems; but not only its use but also exposure
to cigarette smoke can cause many harm to human beings; so even being exposed to cigarette
smoke increases the risk of lung cancer or cardiovascular disease [1]. Most of the effects
of smoking are caused by smoke. The effects of cigarette smoke are very diverse and affect
almost all body systems. People around the smoker are also unaware of these side effects and
are being treated as secondhand smoking [2]. Some people with special conditions are more
sensitive and suffer more complications. Elderly people with underlying illnesses, patients
taking over-the-counter medications, infants and children, are more susceptible to cigarette
smoke [3,4]. Some of these complications are not diagnosed even at birth and develop in
different forms as the child grows older [5]. One of the most likely injuries caused by exposure
to secondhand smoke is the developmental disorders of infants and toddlers, especially those
who have not only physical but also mental health problems [5,6]. Problems such as abnormal
weight gain, increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), leukemia, respiratory
diseases such as bronchitis and asthma, middle ear infections, and increased risk of delayed
tooth growth and premature decay are some of the problems associated with exposure to
secondhand smoke [7]. Cigarette smoke causes undesirable changes in infant teeth due to
stress-induced stimulants such as quinine [7,8].
Therefore, exposure to secondhand smoke is expected to not
only increase the risk of oxidative stress on the body, but also
increase the risk of dental disorders, especially growth retardation.
At about 6 months of age, develops the first milk teeth, which are
two teeth in the middle of the lower jaw. The normal time to start
and grow milk teeth is between 5 and 7 months, but a child may
have a tooth erupted much earlier than this, for example, at one
month of age or the onset of teething may be delayed until age of
18 months, which is normal. The validity of this finding in previous
studies on smoking in parent’s showed that the delay in the growth
of children, improper weight gain of the child and the delay in the
growth of milk teeth in infants of smoking parents are higher than
those who did not smoke [9]. However, there is insufficient and
documented information about the effects and risks of secondhand
smoking in breastfeeding parents. However, in some societies
up to 69% of infant are exposed to cigarette smoke at home [10,11].
In this regard, not only cigarette smoking, but also the rate of
cigarette smoking has been effective so that the consumption of
less than 10 cigarettes per day by the parents is 1.04 times and the
consumption of more than 10 cigarettes per day by the parents
up to 1.8 times increases the risk of adverse infant development
outcomes compared to non-smoking parents in infant exposed to
cigarette smoke [12]. Given the importance of the issue, the high
prevalence of smoking in society, the present study was conducted
to survey the association between secondhand parent’s smoking
and growth of infant teeth in children referred to the dental clinic
of Bahar Hospital in Shahroud, Iran.
The present study was received an ethics code number (IR.
SHMU.REC.1398.089 on 12.3.2019) from Research Deputy of
Shahroud University of Medical Sciences. The essential information
and the objectives of the study were explained to the parents of the
patients, and written consent was obtained for participation in the
plan.
This study is an intervention study in a human sample and in
order to determine the relationship between the developmental
disorder of infant teeth and parent’s smoking, children referred
to the dental clinic of Bahar Hospital in Shahroud were included
between January and December 2019. In this study, eligible children
were selected by simple census method to complete the sample
size, based on having or not having a history of the developmental
disorder of milk teeth, they were divided into case and control
groups and entered the study. The case group included those who
already had or had a history of the developmental disorder of milk
teeth. The development of deciduous teeth begins in the embryonic
period. Evidence of the development of teeth can be seen in the
sixth week of embryonic life. At birth, the baby has 20 milk teeth
or temporary teeth (10 in the upper jaw and 10 in the lower jaw)
that are hidden in the jawbone and under the gums. The normal
time to start teething in most children is between 4 and 7 months.
Of course, growth time is not the same in all children, and in some
children it may occur earlier than 4 months or later than one year,
which is perfectly normal. The first baby tooth to grow is usually
the anterior middle tooth of the mandible. The growth of deciduous
teeth is usually complete by the end of three years of age, at which
time the child has 20 deciduous teeth.
Although the time of eruption is different, the order of eruption
of deciduous teeth is usually as follows:
1. The two anterior middle teeth of the mandible (Lower incisors)
are usually the first teeth to grow and usually occur between 6
and 10 months of age.
2. The growth of the two anterior teeth of the middle upper
jaw (Upper incisors), which usually occurs between 8 and 13
months.
3. Then the later anterior teeth of the upper and lower jaw
(Lateral incisor) usually grow between 8 and 16 months of age,
in most cases the mandibular teeth tend to grow earlier.
4. The first and lower premolars milk teeth usually grow between
the ages of 13 and 19 months.
5. Upper and lower jaw deciduous biting teeth (Capsid) usually
occur between the ages of 16 and 23 months.
6. Finally, the teeth of the molar milk mill grow between the
ages of 25 and 33 months. Disorders in the development of
deciduous milk teeth are diagnosed by delaying the eruption of
each of these teeth, fewer of each of the above teeth, insufficient
longitudinal growth of each tooth, severe loosening of the
tooth that led to its fall, and abnormal tooth growth in its place.
Also malnutrition, vitamin D deficiency, and thyroid hormone
disorders will also be considered in all infants. To measure the height
and weight of each subject, the following standard procedures, were
measured using digital weighing scale and anthropometric rod to
the nearest 0.1kg and 0.1cm, respectively. Children whose weight for
age was less than two Standard Deviations (SD) below the median
were classified as underweight, children or wasted, respectively.
Then the children in both groups were asked about secondhand
smoking history and come with demographic information included
age, weight, the number of teeth available, the time of eruption of
each tooth, type of nutrition, history of dental development disorder
in other children and parents educational level was registered in a
special sheet. In this study, we included infants who were exposed
at least three months with a smoker (father, mother or both). In
terms of exposure, children were divided into three groups (Low: consumption of less than 5 cigarettes in 24 hours by parents,
Medium: consumption of 5 to 10 cigarettes in 24 hours and High:
consumption of more than 10 cigarettes in 24 hours).
Descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation,
as well as relative frequency were used to describe the data.
To examine the relationships and comparisons between the
two groups, was used the chi-square test. Multivariate logistic
regression was used to evaluate the odds of each of the variables.
All analyzes were performed using SPSS software version 16. (p
<0.05) was considered to be significant. Sample size using Epi info
7.2 at a significant level of 5% and a power of 80%, equal to 103
people in each group and a total of 206 people.
In this study, the mean age of patients was 37.6±6.21 months and the age group of 36-48 months with 43.1% had the highest frequency among children in both groups. It was also found that 53 children (22.7%) had no exposure to secondhand smoke or cigarettes. There was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of second-hand tobacco use (P <0.001). The results of second-hand smoking among infants in both groups are shown in Table 1. In this study, independent variables with dental growth disorder of infants were examined in a multivariate regression model. As shown in Table 2, tobacco use variables had a significant relationship with dental growth disorder, both parents are smokers, the average smoking time is more than 12 months, gestational age of infant, high exposure of baby, and delayed growth of pre-molar and molar teeth and there was no significant relationship with other variables. The results of the multivariate logistic regression model are presented in Table 2.
Table 1: Frequency distribution of children based on the exposure to secondhand smoke.
Table 2: Relationship between independent variables with delay in tooth growth in multivariate logistic regression model.
The results of this study showed that, among the measured
variables, secondhand smoking significantly increased the risk of
delay in tooth growth in infants. The rate of this disorder is related
to factors such as the simultaneous smoking of parents, the duration
of smoking and also the daily consumption of cigarettes. This
finding is consistent with the results of Carvalho JC [13]. Of course,
given the limited scope of this study, the result cannot be attributed
to the entire community, but it can highlight the importance of
the need for greater attention and more comprehensive research.
Smoking by parents during infancy can cause problems such
as breathing problems, hypersensitivity, asthma exacerbations,
mental development problems and delayed growth of infants and
children [14]. Parents’ smoking around their young children is
declining in developed countries, but is strongly associated with
cultural and economic poverty, and is on the rise in low-income
or middle-income countries. Smoking is typically reported to be
low in lactating women or women with young children. However,
many infants are exposed to secondhand smoke that can affect
their growing physical and mental health [15]. In some studies,
exposure to second-hand smoking during infancy increases the
risk of respiratory distress in infants by 23% and growth and
developmental abnormalities by 13% and reduces infant weight
gain [16,17]. One study also found a significant association between
parental smoking and infant longitudinal growth limitation [18].
The study found that the younger the gestational age of baby
(especially gestational age less than 28 weeks), the more likely it
was that dental malformations will occur in the face of secondhand
smoke. Perhaps the most important reason is the lower resistance
and safety of these children to the effects of cigarette smoke.
Biological age may be effective in causing apoptosis of the tissues
around the tooth and slowing their growth. Tobacco constituents
enhance apoptosis in periodontal tissue. These findings are
consistent with the study conducted by the Ramos SR et al. [19]
and Kang SW et al. [20]. In this study, it was found that the growth
of children’s teeth exposed to secondhand smoke was significantly
delayed, and this delay was greater in the premolar and molar teeth.
In the study of Lee SI et al. [21] it was found that smoking in parents
with complications of infancy, in particular, delays in the child’s
development, such as when to sit and walk the power of learning
and completing the number of children’s teeth, especially grinding
teeth, is higher than that among normal people. In the study of
Semlali A et al. [22] smoking daily increases the risk of delaying the
growth of a child’s first teeth, and smoking-related illnesses such
as respiratory illnesses can be thought to exacerbate or exacerbate
dental growth problems.
The study found that if both parents were smokers, they
were much more likely to develop dental growth disorders. This
is because children are more prone to secondhand smoke. A
study by Riedel C et al. [23] among children with developmental
disorders, such as problems with tooth growth, showed that the
high prevalence of secondhand smoking was found to be similar
to the results of this study. In this study, it was found that the
effect of secondhand smoking on tooth growth in depending on
the exposure to secondhand smoke was significantly different, as
the amount of exposure increases (high exposure), the problems
related to the growth of teeth increase significantly. The results of
Zadzińska E et al. [24] were in perfect agreement, but the results of
Hammond and Meeker’s studies showed that rate of impairment of dental growth was significantly higher even at moderate doses.
This may be due to the type of participants selected or the sample
size of the studies [18,19].
This study found an impact of secondhand smoking on incidence
of tooth growth delay in various children’s weight group; although
the group of children who weighed less than the corresponding age
group was higher, there was no significant difference between them.
Children who are the right weight for their age are less likely to be
affected by secondhand smoke due to a better and more complete
immune system. This finding is inconsistent with the findings of Li
MY et al. [25] study, which found that children’s weight did not affect
their susceptibility to the effects of cigarette smoke, which may be
due to their choice of children to study [25]. The results of this
study showed that by increasing the duration of smoking by parents
(especially more than one year), the likelihood of delayed dental
growth increases. It was also found that if a child is high exposed to
secondhand smoke, the chances of delaying tooth growth are much
higher. This finding is consistent with the results of Ershoff DH et
al. [11] and Huang R et al. [12] studies but contradicts the findings
of the Molnar study that increase in exposure to secondhand smoke
has not had a significant effect on delayed tooth growth, which may
be due to differences in children’s choice or sample size [18]. In
reviewing the logistic regression model regarding factors affecting
delay of tooth growth, it was found that secondhand smoking (odds
ratio, OR=1.5) increased the chance of tooth growth delay. These
findings are consistent with the results of Zadzińska E et al. [24]
and with the results of Li MY et al. [25] and Williams SA et al. [26]
to some extent. The most important reason for the incomplete
outcome of these results may be the type of study designed or the
sample size to be evaluated.
The results of this study showed that the rate of delayed dental growth in the group of children with smoking parents is relatively high. It has also been shown that second-hand smoking can increase the likelihood of delayed dental growth. Because second-hand smoking increases children’s dental development problems, controlling and reducing smoking during pregnancy and lactation may significantly reduce the incidence of pediatric dental complications. Therefore, in order to control and prevent the inappropriate growth of teeth in children due to smoking by parents, it is necessary to emphasize the non-smoking during pregnancy and lactation by parents and relatives. It is also important to improve the attitudes and actions of parents and their loved ones about the effects of smoking or smoking around young children.
One of the limitations of this research is the self-report of parents in smoking, as well as children’s dental disorders, and especially the delay in tooth growth, which has sometimes not been enough. This problem has been largely solved by justifying parents and repeating the question. Another limitation is that insufficient data on the dose were not available to assess the dose-response relationship and the time it took for cigarette smoke to assess the extent of the damage. Also, the cases in the two groups were divided only in terms of the history of delay in tooth growth, and in other cases, the matching between the two groups was not performed.
© 2021 Mohammad Bagher Sohrabi. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.