Dietary intake of calcium, vitamins A and E and bleeding on probing in Sri Lankan preschoolers

Objective: To determine the prevalence of gingival bleeding on probing and the associations between dietary intake of calcium, vitamins A and E and gingival bleeding on probing in Sri Lankan preschool children. Basic Research Design: A cross-sectional study. Participants: 784 children aged 48-72 months attending preschools in the Kegalle district and their mothers/carers. Results: The prevalence of gingival bleeding on probing was 52.9%. A Poisson logistic regression model revealed that children with a high daily dietary intake of calcium were less likely to have gingival bleeding on probing than those with low intake (PR=0.80; 95%CI 0.64,0.98). Also prevalence of gingival bleeding was higher in children: with plaque on their teeth; whose mothers were not employed; or, were from families with three or more children. Conclusions: The prevalence of gingivitis was high in the children and the findings suggest that high levels of dietary calcium intake are associated with reduced gingival bleeding in preschool children.