Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between prenatal maternal cigarette smoking (PMCS) and early childhood caries (ECC) through a systematic review of currently available scientific evidence.
Material and methods: To address the focused question: "Is there an association between PMCS and ECC?" an electronic literature search without time or language restrictions was conducted till May 2017 in indexed databases using various key words including dental caries, pregnancy, smoking, tobacco products and child. Letters to the editor, commentaries, reviews, case reports and case series and studies in which, ECC was investigated without clinical dental examination, were excluded.
Results: Eight observational cross-sectional studies were included. The number of participants ranged between 1102 and 76920 children with age ranging between 24 months and 72 months. Seven studies reported a positive association between PMCS and ECC. One study reported that children whose mother smoked at least five cigarettes/day during pregnancy presented a higher caries severity level compared with to those whose mothers did not smoke. One study showed no association between ECC and PMCS.
Conclusions: The association between PMCS and ECC remains debatable. Further well-designed longitudinal studies are needed in this regard. Key words:Cigarette, early childhood caries, pregnancy, risk factors, smoking.