Untreated severe dental decay: a neglected determinant of low Body Mass Index in 12-year-old Filipino children

Abstract

BackgroundDental decay is the most common childhood disease worldwide and most of the decay remains untreated. In the Philippines caries levels are among the highest in the South East Asian region. Elementary school children suffer from high prevalence of stunting and underweight.The present study aimed to investigate the association between untreated dental decay and Body Mass Index (BMI) among 12-year-old Filipino children.MethodsData collection was part of the National Oral Health Survey, a representative cross-sectional study of 1951 11-13-year-old school children using a modified, stratified cluster sampling design based on population classifications of the Philippine National Statistics Office. Caries was scored according to WHO criteria (1997) and odontogenic infections using the PUFA index. Anthropometric measures were performed by trained nurses. Some socio-economic determinants were included as potential confounding factors.ResultsThe overall prevalence of caries (DMFT + dmft > 0) was 82.3% (95%CI; 80.6%-84.0%). The overall prevalence of odontogenic infections due to caries (PUFA + pufa > 0) was 55.7% (95% CI; 53.5%-57.9%) The BMI of 27.1% (95%CI; 25.1%-29.1%) of children was below normal, 1% (95%CI; 0.5%-1.4%) had a BMI above normal. The regression coefficient between BMI and caries was highly significant (p < 0.001). Children with odontogenic infections (PUFA + pufa > 0) as compared to those without odontogenic infections had an increased risk of a below normal BMI (OR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.19-1.80).ConclusionsThis is the first-ever representative survey showing a significant association between caries and BMI and particularly between odontogenic infections and below normal BMI. An expanded model of hypothesised associations is presented that includes progressed forms of dental decay as a significant, yet largely neglected determinant of poor child development.

Relationship between Body mass Index, Dental caries and Socioeconomic Status in a Population of 4-14 year Old Children in Udaipur City.

“…This result were similar to the study done by Olivera et al, 13 Norberg et al, 2 Bahuguna et al, 11 Cameron et at, 14 and Benzian et al 15 This can be attributed to the fact that if a child is a fussy eater and underweight, parents may coerce the child to eat or offer tempting food high in carbohydrates to make sure that the child eats thus increasing risk of dental caries.…”

Cárie Dentária e Necessidade de Tratamento Ortodôntico: Impacto na Qualidade de Vida de Escolares

“…Entretanto, estudos com amostras maiores revelam que a cárie dentária pode causar impacto negativo na qualidade de vida de crianças e das suas famílias, interferindo nas atividades diárias como frequentar a escola e manter relacionamento social 12,13 . Nas demais crianças (idade entre 11 e 14 anos), a cárie dentária mostrou associação significativa com impacto negativo na qualidade de vida, principalmente considerando-se os domínios do CPQ11-14: bem-estar emocional e bem-estar social.…”

Interrelationship Between Childhood Obesity and Pediatric Dentistry: A Literature Review

“…Çalışmalardan bazıları pozitif ilişki tespit ederken (33-37), bazıları negatif ilişki tespit etmiştir (38)(39)(40)(41)(42). Bir kısım çalışma ise herhangi bir ilişki bulamamıştır (43)(44)(45)(46)(47).…”