Assessment of Relationship Between Body Mass Index (BMI) And Oral Health Among Age Group Between 5 To 13 Yrs In Nizamabad: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries is a multifactorial infectious disease initiated by cariogenic microorganisms influenced by a combination risk factors such as poor dietary habits, high consumption of sugar-rich foods and beverages including obesity as one .Addressing these factors together can promote better overall health in children.The primary objective of this study was to investigate the nature of the relationship between dental caries and obesity in children aged 6 to 13 years residing in the Nizamabad population zone.

Aim : The present study is done to evaluate the relation between the body mass index and oral health status among 6-13 year children in nizamabad population

Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study to assess the oral health status in relation to body mass index carried out in 5 to 13year old children of government and private schools.The BMI of the patients was calculated and OHI-S was measured according to green and vermilion and individuals scoring was recorded. The OHI-S was established on selected index tooth surfaces with WHO periodontal probe. According to Knutson, Henry Klien, Carole Palmer the number of filled teeth , decayed teeth and missing teeth calculated for DMFT and extracted teeth for deft for primary tooth.

Results : The results indicated that the majority of the participants (83.5%) were classified as underweight. The average DMFT score was 1.473. Highest OHI-S scores were noticed in overweight group 1.01±0.52. Obese group reported an OHI-S score of 0.90±0.43 and also the DMFT scores were highest in the overweight group followed by the other groups .On comparison of DMFT scores based on BMI group, a statistically significant difference was noticed on comparison of DMFT scores with different BMI groups ( p=0.000*).

Conclusion: Overweight children had higher OHI-S scores in overweight group.Similarly, DMFT scores were higher among obese children highest DMFT scores were noticed in obese groupHowever, despite these observations, the statistical analysis showed no significant correlation between BMI and either DMFT or OHI-S scores.