Association between Caries Experience and Body Mass Index in 12-Year-Old French Children

Abstract

The prevalence of overweight and obesity reached 19.7% in 12-year-old French children in the year 2005. Recently, nationwide programs have been broadly implemented in France to reduce the overconsumption of sugars, salt and fat. The aims of this study were to assess the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and D₃₊₄MFT index in a sample of 12-year-old French children, and to compare several regression models in order to analyze the association between these two indices. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Montpellier, France, and the height, weight, D₃₊₄MFT, sugar and soft drink consumption were recorded in a randomly selected sample of 835 schoolchildren. In order to analyze the association between BMI and DMFT, four models of regression were tested: logistic, Poisson, zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) and zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB). The mean BMI was 18.9 for the whole sample and the corresponding DMFT value was 1.47. The caries prevalence was 51.7%. The best fitted models for testing the association between BMI and DMFT were ZIP and ZINB models. They showed a significant association between DMFT and sugar consumption, but not with BMI. As a result of the best fitted models (ZIP and ZINB), where BMI was not statistically associated with DMFT, we conclude, within the limits of a cross-sectional survey, that there is no association between these two variables.

Oral conditions and body weight in children from a public school in Manaus, AM, Brazil

“…caries in the deciduous dentition. Other studies could not find any association between body weight and prevalence of caries 18,19 either, which agrees with our findings. On the other hand, other findings showed that obese individuals had more carious surfaces than those with normal weight 20 .…”

Obesity and dental caries: systematic review

“…39 Moreover, in early childhood there is greater parental control over food intake and oral hygiene practices, which can mean lower prevalence of both diseases. 39 The opposite is also true.…”

“…39 Moreover, in early childhood there is greater parental control over food intake and oral hygiene practices, which can mean lower prevalence of both diseases. 39 The opposite is also true. Parents that do not perform preventive oral health behaviors and food control, especially regarding the sugar consumption, increase the chances of caries in the primary dentition, and later in the permanent dentition, concomitantly with the presence of obesity.…”

“…3 However, other authors reported that excessive consumption of fatty foods has less infl uence on the development of caries than diets rich in sugar, which could be somewhat responsible for the lack of association between obesity and the presence of caries observed in some studies. 39 This review presents some limitations. A small number of studies (fi ve) analyzed longitudinal data.…”

“…However, the scores for caries by means of DMF can remain high because this index considers caries throughout the individuals' lives. 39 Moreover, children identifi ed by parents as obese may be guided to restrict their sugar intake; however, if there is still a high consumption of fats and if their caloric intake is greater than expenditure, they will become overweight. 36 The second limitation is the lack of adjustment in several studies for variables such as diet and socioeconomics.…”