THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DENTAL CARIES AND BODY MASS INDEX AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN MAKKAH CITY

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the association between dental caries and body mass index (BMI) among a sample of male primary school children in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia. Population and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out on a sample of 548 6-12-years-old children in Makkah City, western region of Saudi Arabia. Cluster random sampling technique was applied to select students from public as well as private schools. All the subjects were examined by a single operator using a dmft (decayed, missing, filled primary teeth) and DMFT (decayed, missing, filled, permanent teeth) indices and BMI after obtaining the informed consent. Results: The study included children with mean age 9.5±1.8 years. Of the examined children, 91.2 % had dental caries. Obese children represented 16.8% of the participants whereas underweight represented 11.6% of them. Caries prevalence in primary and permanent teeth among caries-affected children was 67.60% and 86.40% respectively. Underweight children exhibited the highest prevalence and severity of dental caries in both primary and permanent teeth. Correlation analysis showed significant negative relations with BMI, dmft [r =-0.627, p< 0.01] and DMFT [r =-0.205, p< 0.01]. Conclusions: Most of 6-12-years-old primary school children in Makkah had dental caries in both primary and permanent teeth. Underweight children were more likely to have dental caries in both primary and permanent teeth compared to children with other BMI categories.