Cent Eur J Public Health 2011, 19(3):147-151 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3648

Association between anthropometric measurements and dental caries in Turkish school children

Eda Köksal1, Meryem Tekçiçek2, Sıddıka Songül Yalçın3, Belma Tuğrul4, Suzan Yalçın5, Gülden Pekcan6
1 Gazi University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ankara, Turkey
2 Hacettepe University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pedodontics, Ankara, Turkey
3 Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ankara, Turkey
4 Hacettepe University Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education, Ankara, Turkey
5 Selçuk University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Konya, Turkey
6 Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ankara, Turkey

Aim: 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 ≥1) was 84.9%. The prevalence of children with body mass index (BMI) <-1SD and ≥+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).

Conclusion: 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.

Keywords: public health, health status, access to healthcare, general health insurance, private health insurance

Received: November 8, 2010; Revised: May 12, 2011; Accepted: May 12, 2011; Published: September 1, 2011  Show citation

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Köksal E, Tekçiçek M, Yalçın SS, Tuğrul B, Yalçın S, Pekcan G. Association between anthropometric measurements and dental caries in Turkish school children. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2011;19(3):147-151. doi: 10.21101/cejph.a3648. PubMed PMID: 22026291.
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