# Are prenatal smoking and pregnancy BMI risk factors for caries experience in the offspring?

> **NIH NIH R03** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $155,250

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Dental caries is the most common chronic disease of childhood estimated to affect a quarter of U.S children
ages 2-5 years. Widely accepted risk factors are a susceptible tooth, fermentable carbohydrates and caries
bacteria. Given its multifactorial etiology, dental caries represents a complex chronic disease, with etiology
comprising certain upstream factors that promote a favorable oral environment for dental caries susceptibility
and progression. These upstream risk factors include prenatal smoking and pregnancy BMI. The prenatal
period is a sensitive time for fetal growth and development. Development of the primary tooth germ
commences at the end of the 5th week of gestation with mineralization starting at about the 13th week, and
continuing throughout pregnancy to the end of the first year of life. Exposure to maternal lifestyle related
factors during this critical period affects the health and wellbeing of the developing fetus as well as the quality
(i.e. tooth calcification and mineralization) of the developing tooth. Specifically, maternal smoking during
pregnancy (prenatal smoking) alters fetal blood flow and protein metabolism, and is associated with earlier
tooth eruption times and developmental enamel defects. It has previously been reported that children whose
mothers smoke during pregnancy had more teeth erupted at 1 and 2 years old compared to similarly aged
children whose mothers did not smoke. Indeed, prematurely erupted and possibly hypoplastic teeth are
exposed to frequent infant feedings and the associated oral environment longer and thus have more
opportunity to be affected by dental caries. Similarly, it has been suggested that pregnancy weight likely affects
dental caries development in the child, although the mechanism by which this happens is yet to be elucidated
but likely involves host-microbiome interaction and episodes of pregnancy hyperglycemia and
hyperinsulinemia, mechanisms by which pregnancy weight has been shown to be related to offspring obesity.
Using data from the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children (ALSPAC), this proposal aims to
independently investigate associations between prenatal smoking, quantity of cigarettes smoked and
pregnancy weight on subsequent offspring dental caries experience. Furthermore, this proposal aims to assess
whether there is a critical trimester of pregnancy where prenatal smoking caries the greatest risk of subsequent
offspring dental caries experience.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9872144
- **Project number:** 5R03DE028403-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Aderonke Aramide Akinkugbe
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $155,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9872144

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9872144, Are prenatal smoking and pregnancy BMI risk factors for caries experience in the offspring? (5R03DE028403-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9872144. Licensed CC0.

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