Overview
- The peer-reviewed findings, published in Frontiers in Oral Health, come from a longitudinal cohort of socioeconomically disadvantaged women enrolled between 2017 and 2022 at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
- Saliva collected in the late second and third trimesters was analyzed for cortisol and other hormones, and dentists assessed children’s primary teeth at 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months.
- The cortisol–eruption link was most pronounced at six months, while weaker but statistically significant associations appeared for estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and triiodothyronine at specific later ages.
- A maternal diagnosis of depression or anxiety showed no association with measured hormone levels or the number of erupted teeth at any visit.
- Authors hypothesize effects on fetal mineral metabolism and bone remodeling cells as possible pathways and emphasize that the observational design requires larger, more diverse studies to test mechanisms and generalizability.