Plaque Fluoride Levels as a Predictor of Caries Development in Early Childhood with High Sugar Exposure – A Preliminary Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Means, Medians and Standard Errors of Fluoride Concentration in Dental Plaque and Sugar/Sucrose Consumption Frequencies at Baseline and at Follow-Up in the Group of Children Who Developed Caries and in the Group, Who Did Not Develop Caries

Variables	No Caries Development Group (n=15)			Caries Development Group (n=16)
	Baseline	One Year Follow-Up	Increment	Baseline	One Year Follow-Up	Increment
Fluoride (µg/mg of plaque)	0.11 (0.03)±0.04^a	0.01 (0.00)±0.0^b	−0.10 (−0.03)±0.04	0.04 (0.02)±0.01^a	0.02 (0.01)±0.00^a	−0.02 (−0.01)±0.01
Solid sugar (daily exposure^+)	2.08 (1.99)±0.17^a	4.49 (4.67)±0.50^b	2.41 (2.34)±0.53	2.32 (2.33)±0.28^a	6.04 (6.00)±0.61^b	3.72 (3.68)±0.69
Solid sucrose (daily exposure^+)	1.15 (1.00)±0.14^a	3.58 (3.67)±0.50^b	2.43 (2.67)±0.56	1.22 (1.00)±0.18^a	4.92 (5.17)±0.59^b	3.69 (3.67)±0.65
Liquid sucrose (daily exposure^+)	3.99 (3.33)±0.36^a	2.93 (3.33)±0.35^b*	−1.05 (−1.00)±0.37	3.99 (4.16)±0.38^a	4.15 (4.17)±0.43^a*	0.15 (0.00)±0.58
Total sugar (daily exposure^+)	6.07 (6.65)±0.36^a	7.42 (8.00)±0.82^a*	1.35 (0.75)±0.76	6.31 (6.65)±0.48^a	10.19 (10.33)±1.00^b*	3.88 (3.85)±1.2
Total sucrose (daily exposure^+)	5.14 (5.65)±0.39^a	6.51 (7.00)±0.82^a*	1.37 (1.08)±0.82	5.22 (5.16)±0.45^a	9.06 (9.33)±0.99^b*	3.85 (3.68)±1.2

Notes: Different letters in lines indicate statistical difference – p<0.05 (the Wilcoxon test, comparison inside groups: baseline x follow-up). *Asterisks in line indicate statistical difference – p<0.05 (the Mann Whitney test, comparison between groups: baseline x baseline, follow-up x follow-up). ⁺The “daily exposure” was calculated by dividing the total number of sugar/sucrose exposure by the number of days (frequency).

Table 2 Spearman Correlation Coefficients (r) Between Caries Increment and Sugar/Sucrose Consumption Frequency Increment

Variables	Liquid Sucrose		Total Sugar		Total Sucrose		Solid Sugar		Solid Sucrose
	Spearman Coefficient (p - value)
Caries increment (dmfs)	0.463	(0.009)*	0.429	(0.016)*	0.414	(0.021)*	0.353	(0.052)	0.354	(0.051)

Note: *Asterisks indicate statistical significance – p<0.05.

Abbreviation: dmfs, decayed, missing or filled surfaces and active white spot lesions.

Table 3 Correlations Between Fluoride Concentrations in Dental Plaque, Sugar/Sucrose Consumption Frequency and Presence of Dental Plaque at Baseline versus These Same Variables at Follow-Up

Variables	Baseline
Follow-Up	Total Sugar	Total Sucrose	Solid Sugar	Solid Sucrose	Liquid Sucrose	Fluoride	Presence of Dental Plaque
	Spearman Coefficient r (p-value)
Total sugar (daily exposure)	0.143 (0.444)	0.093 (0.617)	−0.012 (0.949)	−0.154 (0.407)	0.177 (0.340)	0.101 (0.588)	0.041 (0.825)
Total sucrose (daily exposure)	0.104 (0.579)	0.103 (0.582)	−0.086 (0.645)	−0.179 (0.336)	0.203 (0.274)	0.110 (0.555)	0.021 (0.912)
Solid sugar (daily exposure)	0.171 (0.359)	0.061 (0.745)	0.074 (0.692)	−0.066 (0.725)	0.098 (0.598)	0.105 (0.573)	−0.037 (0.842)
Solid sucrose (daily exposure)	0.077 (0.679)	0.070 (0.708)	−0.095 (0.610)	−0.174 (0.349)	0.175 (0.345)	0.097 (0.603)	−0.087 (0.642)
Liquid sucrose (daily exposure)	0.173 (0.351)	0.178 (0.339)	−0.039 (0.836)	−0.185 (0.319)	0.274 (0.136)	0.137 (0.463)	0.187 (0.315)
Fluoride (µg/mg of plaque)	0.051 (0.784)	0.107 (0.565)	−0345 (0.057)	−0.324 (0.076)	0.252 (0.172)	0.040 (0.831)	0.085 (0.651)
Presence of dental plaque	0.422 (0.018)*	0.314 (0.085)	0.525 (0.002)*	0.365 (0.044)*	0.203 (0.274)	−0.142 (0.446)	0.158 (0.397)

Notes: *Asterisks indicate statistical significance – p<0.05; the “daily exposure” was calculated by dividing the total number of sugar/sucrose exposure by the number of days (frequency).

Table 4 Risks for Caries Development, Considering Fluoride Concentration, Sugar/Sucrose Consumption Frequency, and Presence of Dental Plaque

Variables	Caries Development n (%)		Odds Ratio (95% CI)	p-value
	No	Yes
Fluoride (µg/mg of plaque)				0.047*
>0.1	6 (86)	1 (14)	1
≤0.1	9 (38)	15 (63)	10.0 (1.03 −100.00)
Dental plaque				0.095
Absent	5 (63)	3 (38)	1
Present	10 (43)	13 (57)	4.67 (0.77–28.41)
Solid sugar (daily exposure)				0.054
>2	5 (31)	11 (69)	4.40 (0.98–19.85)
≤2	10 (67)	5 (33)	1
Solid sucrose (daily exposure)				0.886
>1	6 (50)	6 (50)	0.90 (0.21–3.82)
≤1	9 (47)	10 (53)	1
Liquid sucrose (daily exposure)				0.853
>4	7 (47)	8 (53)	1.14 (0.28–4.68)
≤4	8 (50)	8 (50)	1
Total sugar (daily exposure)				0.606
>6	8 (44)	10 (56)	1.46 (0.35–6.11)
≤6	7 (54)	6 (46)	1
Total sucrose (daily exposure)				0.853
>5	8 (50)	8 (50)	0.87 (0.21–3.57)
≤5	7 (47)	8 (53)	1
Sleep with a baby bottle containing sweetened liquids				0.577
No	9 (53)	8 (47)	1
Yes	6 (43)	8 (57)	1.50 (0.36–6.23)

Notes: Logistic regression analysis; *Asterisks indicate statistical significance – p<0.05. The “daily exposure” was calculated by dividing the total number of sugar/sucrose exposure by the number of days (frequency).

Abbrevaitions: n, frequency; %, percentage; CI, confidence interval.