Stress and Early Tooth Development in Infants
It’s interesting how stress can manifest in pregnant women—everything from high blood pressure to heart disease, really. One of the more alarming effects is premature birth, particularly before 37 weeks, which is unfortunately the top cause of neonatal death and disability.
Moreover, recent studies indicate that stress may also be affecting babies in ways we hadn’t expected. It appears that stressed mothers could be influencing their babies’ development, possibly even making them age faster than they should.
According to experts from the University of Rochester, there’s evidence suggesting that teething may begin earlier for babies whose mothers are particularly fatigued or stressed.
Ying Meng, an associate professor at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, points out that elevated levels of stress-related hormones, like cortisol, during the later stages of pregnancy, are linked to earlier emergence of primary teeth in infants.
It might seem trivial, but all of us—well, most of us—started with 20 baby teeth. Typically, they begin to come in between 6 months and 3 years of age. Factors such as genetic background, nutrition, the baby’s birth weight, and the mother’s age can all play a part in when these teeth come through.
In this particular study, researchers collected saliva samples from 142 disadvantaged women in their second and third trimesters to analyze levels of cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, and a few other hormones.
The infants were later brought in for dental assessments at various ages: 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months.
By the time they reached 6 months, 15% of those babies had one to six teeth, and nearly 98% had up to 12 teeth by their first birthday. However, it was found that infants born to mothers with the highest cortisol levels had, on average, four more teeth by the six-month mark compared to those born to mothers with lower cortisol levels.
The role of cortisol, often referred to as the main stress hormone, is quite significant. It not only prompts the body’s fight-or-flight reaction but can also have detrimental effects on bone growth, particularly in developing infants.
As Meng elaborates, high levels of cortisol during late pregnancy can lead to alterations in fetal growth, as well as impact calcium and vitamin D metabolism—crucial elements for properly developing bones and teeth.
Interestingly, early tooth eruption isn’t usually a cause for alarm, but new parents should remain vigilant for any signs of discomfort in their little ones.
The researchers also noted some additional connections, though they were somewhat weaker, between maternal hormone levels and tooth development:
- Maternal estradiol and testosterone levels showed an increase in the number of primary teeth by the age of one.
- Maternal progesterone and testosterone levels correlated with the number of secondary teeth.
- Thyroid hormone levels were associated with dental development at 18 and 24 months.
The findings were released in Frontiers in Oral Health. Meng highlighted that there are still many unanswered questions regarding this topic.
Questions like what specific maternal hormones drive the changes in tooth eruption timing, how accelerated teething relates to biological aging, and what this acceleration might reveal about the child’s overall health are all still on the table.
