In a recent study we looked at the relationship between tooth eruption and adolescent anthropometric measures in ALSPAC. We found primary tooth eruption to be associated with height and weight at 17 years (unpublished Fatemifar et al. 2013). To gain a better understanding of factors effecting tooth development we believe that it is also important to understand exposures that may alter the timing of eruption and subsequently number of primary teeth at childhood. Smoking during pregnancy is known to reduce fetal development (1). We therefore hypothesise there will be relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and timing of tooth eruption.

Aims:

We aim to investigate the relationship between maternal smoking and primary tooth eruption. In doing so we need to take into account any confounders and mediators. We then aim to use a variant in a known nicotine receptor to conduct some instrumental variable analysis, in which we look at the relationship between maternal smoking and primary tooth eruption using the nicotine receptor variant as an instrument for maternal smoking.

Exposure variables:

Maternal Smoking

Paternal Smoking

Outcome variables:

Age at first tooth (15 months)

Number of teeth (15 months)

Confounding variables:

Birth weight

Maternal Education

Breast Feeding

Gestational Age

Maternal Age

Parity

1. Jaakkola,J.J.K. and Gissler,M. (2004) Maternal smoking in pregnancy, fetal development, and childhood asthma. American journal of public health, 94, 136-40.