Nutritional status, tooth wear and quality of life in Brazilian schoolchildren

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the correlation among nutritional status, tooth wear and quality of life in Brazilian schoolchildren. Design The study followed a cross-sectional design. Nutritional status was measured via anthropometry using BMI and tooth wear was measured using the Dental Wear Index; both these assessments were carried out by a trained recorder according to standard criteria. A modified version of the Child Oral Impacts on Daily Performances was used to assess quality of life. Setting City of Bauru, in Brazil. Subjects A cluster sample of 396 schoolchildren (194 boys and 202 girls) aged 7-10 years. Results The anthropometric assessment showed similar situations for both sexes regarding underweight (31·40 % in boys and 30·20 % in girls) and overweight/obesity (33·96 % in boys and 33·17 % in girls). The underweight children showed a greater severity of tooth wear in the primary teeth (OR=0·72; CI 0·36, 1·42), although in the permanent dentition the obese children had a greater severity of tooth wear (OR=1·42; 95 % CI 0·31, 6·55). The tooth wear was correlated with age for both dentitions. Conclusions Tooth wear in the primary and permanent dentition may be related to nutritional status. Tooth wear and obesity did not have a significant impact on the schoolchildren's perception of quality of life.