Dental caries and body mass index in a sample of 12-year-old eastern Turkish children

Background/purposeThe objective of the present study was to investigate the possible correlation between the body mass index (BMI) and dental caries among 12-year-old Turkish children.Materials and methodsThe clinical study was performed on 224 12-year-old children at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey, to determine their dental caries and malnutrition status. To assess the nutritional status, the weight for age, height for age, and BMI were determined. The BMI status was categorized into four groups: 1 (underweight), 2 (normal weight), 3 (overweight), and 4 (obese). The occurrence of dental caries was determined using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index.ResultsRespective mean DMFT values for BMI-1, BMI-2, BMI-3, and BMI-4 were 1.44, 1.47, 1.81, and 2.33, respectively. There were significant differences between BMI-1 and BMI-4 (P = 0.019, r2 = 0.73) and between BMI-2 and BMI-4 (P = 0.022, r2 = 0.72) values.ConclusionPaedodontics should consider the relationship between patients’ body composition and oral health, in order to provide the best service for pediatric patients, and should advice parents on oral-health promotion.