Association between Nutritional Status and Early Childhood Caries in Indian Children

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the body mass index (BMI) status and to correlate between nutritional status and early childhood caries among 3–6-year-old children in Vikarabad, Telangana, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 children attending the outpatient department of Pedodontia in Sri Sai College of Dental Surgery, Vikarabad. Caries experience was recorded using dmft index (WHO 1997); various anthropometric measures, such as weight, BMI, and height, were recorded as per the standard guidelines. Pearson correlation coefficient and chi square test were used to determine significant differences. Data were analyzed using the statistical analysis software (SPSS version 17.0 Chicago IL, USA) RESULTS: Maximum number of participants (69%) were with normal BMI- for-age followed by underweight, overweight, and obese categories. The mean dmft values for each BMI category among the underweight, normal, overweight, and obese children were 4.9 ± 4.0, 4.6 ± 3.3, 2.7 ± 1.9, and 4.4 ± 3.0, respectively, which was statistically not significant. CONCLUSION: No significant association was found between dmft and BMI-for-age, rather a negative correlation existed between dmft and BMI-for-age (r = −0.023), which was not statistically significant (P = 0.66).