Association between anthropometric measurements and dental caries in Turkish school children.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the association between anthropometric measurements and dental caries in school children.


METHODS
The study was conducted on 245 primary school children (50.2% boys, 49.8% girls,), aged 5 to 9 years. The prevalence and severity of dental caries was measured using the decayed, missing or filled surfaces (dmfs, DMFS) and teeth (dmft, DMFT) indices.


RESULTS
Mean dmft indices in children for boys and girls were 5.5 +/- 3.92 and 5.0 +/- 3.64, respectively. The prevalence of children with dental caries (dmft > or = 1) was 84.9%. The prevalence of children with body mass index (BMI) <-1SD and > or = +1SD was 15.9% and 22.9%, respectively. Dental caries were found in 89.7% of children with low body weight (including underweight and at risk for underweight) and in 66.1% of overweight-obese children (p<0.05). Similarly, high indices were detected significantly more often in children with low body weight (p<0.05). Height, weight, BMI and percent of fat mass were found to be negatively correlated with dmft indices (r:-0.141, p: 0.028; r:-0.171, p: 0.007; r:-0.139, p: 0.030; r:-0.158, p: 0.013, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Children with low body weight have a higher risk of developing dental caries than overweight-obese children. For these reasons, the evaluation of nutritional status in children should be implemented in control programs for dental caries both on the community and individual levels.
Gazi University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ankara, Turkey.
Eda
E
Köksal
Meryem
M
Tekçiçek
Siddika Songül
SS
Yalçin
Belma
B
Tuğrul
Suzan
S
Yalçin
Gülden
G
Pekcan
D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013851:Thinness / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology