J Orofac Sci, 2(2)2010

Journal of

OROFACIAL SCIENCES
Original Research

Dental Caries and Body Mass Index in Children of Nellore.

Niraj Gokhalea*, Sivakumar. Na, Nirmala. SVSGa, Abinash. Ma
a

Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Narayana Dental College, Chintareddypalem, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India.

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Article History :
Received : 20 July 2010
Received in revised form : 27 July 2010
Accepted : 7 August 2010

AIM : The purpose of this study was to find whether any correlation exists
between dental caries and body mass index.

Key Words :
Body Mass Index,
Dental Caries.

MATERIALS AND METHOD : Height and weight of 100 patients were taken
and body mass index was calculated and oral examination was carried out to
find any correlation with dental caries.
RESULTS : The results showed that no statistically significant values were
obtained for BMI and dental caries (Chi square=8.030), similarly for BMI and
socioeconomic status (Chi square=6.704) and also for socioeconomic status and
dental caries (Chi square=1.103).
CONCLUSION: More factors other than the BMI, Socioeconomic status are
involved in the prevalence of caries.
2010 SIDS.All Rights Reserved

INTRODUCTION :
Dental caries is an increasing public health problem
worldwide. Incidence of dental caries is on the rise inspite
of best efforts by dental health professionals to reduce its
incidence. Because of the increasing trend of sedentary
lifestyle and indulgence in consumption of JUNK food
overweight and obesity are on rise. Overweight and obese
people are at increased risk of developing medical and
psychological problems. High sugar intake is reported to
be more common among overweight and obese children
than those with normal weights. Frequent sugar intake is
also recognized risk factor for dental caries. Thus the eating
pattern among overweight or obese children may be a risk
factor in common for caries and overweight 1. The
documentation of such relationship is sparse and seemingly

inconsistent. An accepted method to evaluate an

individuals body weight is through calculation of body
mass index (BMI). Due to changed eating habits, an
increase in high weight and obesity especially in developed
and developing countries has been observed over the past
two decades1, 2. Childhood obesity may lead to serious
diseases, a decrease in life expectancy and numerous other
problems. Childhood obesity and Caries may share some
common factors: Biological/genetic factors, social/cultural
factors, dietary/feeding factors, and environmental/lifestyle
factors. Other factors are : Poverty, race, and intake of drugs
which may reduce salivary flow3.

* Corresponding author :

Present study was carried out in Dept of Pedodontics,

Narayana Dental College and Hospital after explaining
the study to parents and obtaining informed consent from
the parent. 100 children aged 3-14 years were taken into
the study. The demographic data was recorded on a

Dr. Niraj Gokhale

Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry
Narayana Dental College,
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh-524002, India.
neeraj_gokhale05@rediffmail.com

MATERIALS AND METHOD :

J Orofac Sci, 2(2)2010

recording form. The parents were asked about their

profession and based on it the socioeconomic status was
determined. Dental examination was carried out by a
single examiner and data entered by a single assistant.
The DMFT and def indices were recorded after drying
the teeth with air and using a mirror and No 23 explorer.
After the dental examination the height and weight (BAI
weighing scale) of the children were determined using
standardized scales. The Body Mass Index was calculated
using the formula BMI= Kg/m2 using height and weight
measures4. Using age and gender specific criteria, subjects
were categorized as
G

Ideal weight: BMI 14-17.

Under weight: BMI less than 14.

Over weight: BMI more than 17.

Socioeconomic division was done based on the profession

as given by Tata consultancy service5 into
G

Lower class

Lower middle class

Upper middle class

Middle class.

High class.

RESULTS :
Data collected was statistically analyzed using SPSS
16.0 software.
Parameters like BMI, Decay were categorized and the
results were found insignificant for all the pairs of
combinations i.e,

TABLE1.

COMPARING BMI WITH DECAY

DECAY_CODE

3 TO 5

6 TO 7

Total

LESS
THAN 14

15

23

CODE

14 - 17

52

11

66

GREATER
THAN 14

11

27

24

100

Chisquare =
8.030NS

Total

TABLE2:

COMPARING BMI WITH SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

BMICODE * SOCIO

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
Total

ECONOMIC status

UPC

LC

LMC

LESS
THAN
14
BMICODE

15

23

14 - 17

25

16

25

66

GREATER
THAN 14

11

34

23

43

100

Chisquare=
6.704NS

Total

TABLE 3:

COMPARING SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS WITH DECAY

SOCIO
ECONOMIC
status* DECAY_CODE

BMI and Decay (p>0.05) (Table- 1)

BMI and Socio Economic Status (p>0.05)

SOCIO

(Table -2)

Chisquare=
1.103NS

Socio economic status and Decay (p>0.05) at

0 TO 2

BMI

DECAY_CODE

BMICODE *

DECAY_CODE
Total

0 TO 2

3 TO 5

6 TO 7

UPC

25

34

LC

18

23

LMC

29

12

43

72

24

100

0.05 level (Table-3)

This means that other factors like living habits, fluoride
content of water, and type of food being consumed etc,
also have a role in carious process.

Total

The results from our study portrayed that there is no

evident correlation between BMI and dental caries.
5

J Orofac Sci, 2(2)2010

DISCUSSION :
In a study which compared the relation between body
mass index and S-ECC found that BMI percentile was
not correlated with dmft or the number of pulp-involved
teeth, even after adjusting for confounding factors6. A
study found that adolescents with overweight and obesity
had significantly higher approximal caries prevalence than
those of normal weight7. In a study by Brita Willerhausen
et al showed that a significant association exists between
high weight and caries frequency in the first dentition
(p=0.0067) and in the permanent dentition (p=0.0002)2.
Gerdin EW et al from their study in 2303 Swedish
children found that association of overweight and dental
caries is weak8.
CONCLUSION :
Hence from this study it can be seen that Body Mass
Index cannot be used to correlate dental caries and the
weight of the child as the degree of significance is very
less. Other factors do have a role to play in the caries
process. More longitudinal studies with higher sample
size are needed to confirm this association.
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