Stress during pregnancy and tooth eruption

The mother's biology undoubtedly influences fetal growth during pregnancy, with negative consequences particularly on the child's physical, behavioral, and cognitive development. A recent study has highlighted a potential effect of prenatal stress on tooth eruption.

In most children, between 𝟐 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏𝟏 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝟏𝟐 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬. Disturbances in tooth eruption (early or delayed) can cause dental problems throughout life. The development of baby teeth 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒐. A recent study published in the journal 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑂𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ investigated the link between 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, stress-related hormones, and 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. The hormones studied were cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine.

A total of 142 mother-child pairs were studied. At 6 months, 15.2% of children had at least one tooth erupted, and 25% had all 20 baby teeth at 24 months. Cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and triiodothyronine levels were 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 with the number of teeth that had erupted at 6 months. In patients who had 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲, children had an average of 𝟒 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝟔 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 than children of mothers who had low cortisol levels.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 therefore appears to have an effect on tooth eruption in the child. However, cortisol probably interacts with a 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 that regulate tooth eruption, such as genetic factors, diet, living conditions, and the everyday environment in which the infant grows up.