Correlation of dental caries status with BMI in school children of age 3-16 years- An institutional study

AIM: The study investigates the correlation of dental caries status with body mass index (BMI) in school children of age 3 to 16 years. BACKGROUND: Obesity is a rising global health epidemic. Dental caries has been the predominant disorder in modern society. Obesity and dental caries are major health problems with multifactorial characteristics and similar risk factors, such as diet, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating pattern, not enough sleep, and high amount of stress etc. Various studies have documented diverse outcomes linked to BMI and dental caries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was implemented on 756 participants. Among the study participants, 475 (62.8%) were boys and 281 (37.2%) were girls. The decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index has been used to assess the prevalence of dental caries. Information of the study participant’s height and weight was reported using a standardized measuring scale and weighing machine; after that, the BMI was measured. SPSS version 22 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean DMFT of the study participants in normal-weight children was 2.3. There was a positive correlation between the dental caries status and BMI, with a significant value of 0.27. CONCLUSION: Diet counselling and regular dental check-ups should be prescribed to prevent dental caries from occurring and monitor children’s healthy weight. Balanced nutrition needs to be provided to children by school authorities and parents.