Dental caries and its association with body mass index among school children of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

A BSTRACT Background: Few studies have investigated the relationship of dental caries with obesity among Saudi Arabian population. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the association of obesity with dental caries among school children. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among 12- and 15-year-old government school children of Riyadh. A total of 2247 children were examined from 24 schools of Riyadh. Caries status (decayed, missing, and filled teeth [DMFT]) was recorded according to World Health Organization (WHO) Oral Health Survey 2013. Height and weight measurements were recorded after clinical examination. According to body mass index (BMI) percentiles, the children were classified as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. Chi-square test was used to find association between variables for categorical data. Mean ± standard deviation (SD) was calculated for continuous measurements and to find the difference between the groups unpaired t test/analysis of variance was used. A value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Dental caries prevalence was 83.7% and mean DMFT was 5.31 ± 3.88 in the study population. A statistically significant difference was found for mean decayed, mean filled teeth, and overall mean DMFT between 12 and 15 years old ( P < 0.001), but not for mean missing teeth ( P = 0.137). There was no association between BMI categories and mean DMFT for both the age groups. Conclusion: The dental caries was found to be high among the study subjects compared to WHO norms. Older children had higher DMFT values than the younger children and there was no association between dental caries and BMI.

Predictors influencing dental clinic utilization in primary health care: A retrospective analysis of 233,069 patient records in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…Another notable finding is that individuals with higher BMI visit PHC centers less frequently. This pattern warrants further research into the impact of oral health on overall wellbeing, as it aligns with previous studies highlighting a lack of awareness of preventive dental practices among those with high BMI ( Abdellatif and Hebbal, 2020 ; Crocombe et al, 2012 ). Addressing this gap can potentially encourage routine oral health check-ups.…”

Anthropometric Status, Diet, and Dental Caries among Schoolchildren

“…Conversely, some studies reported that overweight/obese children had lower caries scores [ 13 , 14 , 15 ] or were less likely to have dental caries [ 14 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ] compared to children of normal weight. Furthermore, results from several studies indicated that there was no significant association between weight status and caries scores [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] or caries prevalence [ 22 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. Several systematic reviews of the childhood obesity-caries relationship indicated that various confounding factors were not evaluated in several previous studies and might affect the findings [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and Dental Caries among 6–12-Year-Old School Children

“…In the present study of the selected age group of 6-12 years, it was found that there is a female preference for increased BMI. The prevalence of increasing weight and dental caries in children is a concern in Saudi Arabia [27][28][29][30][31][32]. Alshihri et al [33] reported that obesity and dental caries are multifactorial diseases, and the establishment of an association between these two diseases is very complex.…”