The Influence of Diet, Exercise and Education Level During Pregnancy on Child Cavities and Tooth Eruption

Review Data

Q: Is the topic relevant to the journal area of interest? Is it contemporary and interesting for researchers?

A: Very good

Abstract & Keywords

Q: Are all required components included in the abstract? Are the keywords appropriately chosen?

A: Very good

Goal

Q: Is the goal explicitly stated in the Introduction? Is its formulation clear and unambiguous?

A: Very good

Structure

Q: Is the paper's structure coherent? Is it in coherence with the goal of the paper?

A: Good

Tools and Methods

Q: Are methods the author uses adequate and well used?

A: Very good

Discussion & Conclusion

Q: Is it related to the results presented before? Do you consider them as coherent?

A: Excellent

Comments: The Discussion section, with the help of adequate relevant literature, determines the effects of maternal diet, physical activity during pregnancy, and education level on child caries risk and tooth development after birth. Based on the findings and relevant literature, it demonstrates that calcium-rich dairy food consumption during pregnancy is important for tooth eruption and primary tooth count, excessive duration of exercise during pregnancy is associated with increased surface decay of child’s primary teeth and higher levels of maternal education is associated with decreased caries risk. These findings guide healthcare providers to educate women on calcium intake and appropriate levels of exercise during pregnancy, as well as oral hygiene counseling for their child. The limitations of this study are also properly addressed.

Literature

Q: Does the author utilize relevant literature?

A: Very good

Author's knowledge

Q: What is the level of the author’s knowledge? Does the author utilize all recent contributions relevant to the topic?

A: Very good

Length

Q: Is the length of the paper adequate to the significance of the topic? Do you suggest shortening the paper without losing its value?

A: Good

Figures & Tables

Q: Does the author use them suitably? Are legend and notations clear?

A: Very good

Writing style

Q: Is it clear and understandable?

A: Good

Comments:

·       Words like “adverse”, “independent”, “healthier”, “participation”, “pregnancy”, “conjunction” are misspelled in the text section of the manuscript.

·       The 1^st sentence of the “Conclusion” does not make sense. Hence, this should be rephrased as “To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the influence of these health behaviors such as diet, PA during pregnancy in conjunction with mother’s educational level on child caries risk and tooth eruption after birth, in a diverse US population of women of low socioeconomic status (SES).”

Further comments on the paper

Comments: This cross-sectional study is the first study which assesses the influence of dietary factors, exercise during pregnancy and mother’s educational level on the dental health measures of caries risk and tooth eruption of their offspring in a diverse US population of women of low socioeconomic status (SES). This study, by involving 82 mother-child pairs, investigates the association between i) calcium-rich dairy and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-rich foods and child tooth eruption and tooth count, ii) exercise duration during pregnancy and primary surface caries and iii) maternal education and caries risk of the child. It highlights that maternal nutrition, education and physical activity are associated with positive oral health scores in their children. After performing modifiable physical activity questionnaire (MPAQ), food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), education classification, the findings suggest that i) increased dairy intake during pregnancy is related to increased primary tooth count, normal tooth eruption, and improved dental measures such as caries risk assessment, ii) increased exercise duration results in increased primary tooth decay, iii) higher maternal education level correlates to decreased prevalence of primary tooth caries for the child. There are limitations to be considered as well. Small sample size, biasness in self reporting of diet and physical activity (PA) and the limited validity of PA questionnaire are few limitations of this study. Also, there are many maternal and child factors affecting the oral health status. These factors should also be taken into consideration in future research.

Q: Would you recommend this manuscript for further publication?

A: Yes - Suitable to be published

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Science Repository Team