Caries and micronutrient intake among urban South African children: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To report on associations between caries and micronutrient intake among a 'true cohort' group of 5-year-old urban black South African children.

METHODS

The study sample was a true cohort that had nutrition as well as dental information for 1991 and 1995 (n = 259). Micronutrient intake and dental caries associations were examined with SAS using the linear logistic analysis and a critical level of statistical significance of P < 0.05.

RESULTS

Of the 21 micronutrients investigated, vitamin B12, riboflavin, magnesium and biotin were individually significantly associated with caries incidence, but taken together only magnesium was significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The association of micronutrient intake with caries was weak, isolated and not clinically relevant. Micronutrient intake was not an indicator of the presence or absence of caries among the children studied.