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 (β: −0.04; 95% CI: −0.08, −0.01) and at birth (β: −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 <25.0 nmol/L] during midpregnancy exhibited a higher dental age (β: 0.14; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.24) and higher developmental stages of the mandibular first premolar (β: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.60) compared with the children of mothers with optimal values of 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 (β: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.20), higher developmental stages of the mandibular second premolar (β: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.51), and higher developmental stages of the mandibular second molar (β: 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.