The Associations of Maternal and Neonatal Vitamin D with Dental Development in Childhood

Background: Vitamin D influences the formation and mineralization of teeth. Objective: To investigate the association of maternal and neonatal vitamin D concentrations with the dental development of 10-y-old children, in a population-based prospective cohort study among 3,770 mothers and children in the Netherlands. Methods: Maternal venous blood samples were collected in the second trimester (median 20.4 weeks of gestation; range: 18.5-23.2 wk) whereas umbilical cord blood samples were collected immediately after delivery (median 40.1 weeks of gestation; range 35.9-42.3 wk). Dental development was defined using the Demirjian method. Multivariate regression models were built to analyze the studied associations. Results: High concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] during midpregnancy (beta: -0.04; 95% CI: -0.08, -0.01) and at birth (beta: -0.06; 95% CI: -0.10, -0.02) were associated with a lower dental age in children. The children of mothers with severe vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D /=75.0 nmol/L). Children with vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D 25.0-49.9 nmol/L] at birth exhibited a higher dental age (beta: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.20), higher developmental stages of the mandibular second premolar (beta: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.51), and higher developmental stages of the mandibular second molar (beta: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.48) compared with children with sufficient-to-optimal values of 25(OH)D (>/=50.0 nmol/L) at birth. Conclusion: Higher maternal and neonatal 25(OH)D concentrations are associated with decelerated dental development in childhood. The lower the vitamin D level during midpregnancy or at birth, the higher the dental age of children, and the higher the developmental stages of the mandibular teeth.