Association Between Dental Caries and Body Mass Index Among Hamedan Elementary School Children in 2009

Excessive weight in children is a major public health concern. The intakeof refined carbohydrates, especially sugars and the prevalence of dental cariesare well documented in the literature. The purpose of this study was to investigatethe relationship between dental caries and BMI in elementary school children.Materials and Methods: The sampling technique used in the present study was acluster random sampling. A total of 1000 pupils (500 girls, 500 boys) aged 6-11years from 20 private and state elementary schools (10 boys, 10 girls). The weightstatus was measured in children by assessment of body mass index (BMI) (=bodyweight/body height2 kg/m2) corresponding to gender and age-ranked percentages.To assess the caries frequency the decayed filled teeth (DFT) index for permanentdentition and the dft index for primary dentition were used since they give goodperception about the situation of tooth caries in young patients.Results: The highest mean total dft/DFT was seen in normal weight and lowestaverage in at risk of overweight children. There was not a statistically significantrelationship found between high weight and caries frequency in the first (p=0.08)and permanent dentitions (p=0.06).Conclusion: The results of this preliminary study do not support an associationbetween dental caries and obesity.