Study: Playing video games can lead to caries

Mar 24, 2010

Teenagers who spend a lot of time playing video games often consume sugary snacks and drinks while playing, thus are more likely to develop caries than those with active lifestyles, according to research presented at the recent American Association for Dental Research (AADR) conference in Washington, DC.

The study, conducted at the University of Iowa, suggests that video game addicts are more than twice as likely to develop caries as those with more active lifestyles.

Researchers surveyed 48 patients ages 12-16 years who came to the university's pediatric dentistry department. The survey queried demographics, dietary habits, oral hygiene behaviors, activity habits, and dietary habits during activities. The subjects' dental records were then examined.

According to the survey results, very active subjects reported eating healthier foods compared to less active subjects (81% versus 44%, p = 0.017). When hours per day watching TV (r = 0.35, p = 0.017) and total screen time per day (r = 0.35, p = 0.016) were correlated with quantity of regular soda and sports drinks consumption, the researchers found that subjects who ate or drank while playing video games played more hours per day than subjects who didn't eat or drink (1.5 ± 0.6 versus 0.7 ± 1.0 hours, p = 0.019).

Subjects who had parental rules regarding screen time were less likely to eat or drink while watching TV/video games than subjects without parental rules (15% versus 49%, p = 0.049). Subjects with structured eating patterns were less likely to have caries than subjects with unstructured patterns (44% versus 13%, p = 0.049).

"Subjects with caries spent more time on the computer than subjects without caries and had more total screen time than subjects without caries," the researchers noted. "Neither watching TV nor playing video games were associated with caries experience."

Their data suggest that potentially cariogenic dietary habits are associated with screen activities, and that computer and total screen times are associated with caries experience, they concluded.