Correlation between Caries, Body Mass Index and Occlusion in an Italian Pediatric Patients Sample: A Transverse Observational Study

Angela Militi, Riccardo Nucera, Ludovica Ciraolo, Angela Alibrandi, Rosamaria Fastuca, Roberto Lo Giudice and Marco Portelli
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Angela Militi: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dentistry and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria 1, 98122 Messina, Italy
Riccardo Nucera: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dentistry and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria 1, 98122 Messina, Italy
Ludovica Ciraolo: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dentistry and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria 1, 98122 Messina, Italy
Angela Alibrandi: Department of Economics, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy
Rosamaria Fastuca: Department of Medicine and Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Insubria, Via G. Piatti 10, 21100 Varese, Italy
Roberto Lo Giudice: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dentistry and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria 1, 98122 Messina, Italy
Marco Portelli: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dentistry and Morphological and Functional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria 1, 98122 Messina, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between caries, body mass index (BMI) and occlusion in a sample of pediatric patients. Methods: The study group included 127 patients (72 female, 55 male) aged between 6 and 16 years (mean age 10.2) and selected between January and June 2019 at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Messina. Caries incidence was evaluated using the decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index. On the basis of BMI values, using a table adjusted for age and gender, patients were grouped into four categories (underweight, normal weight, risk of overweight, overweight). Results: There was no significant correlation between BMI and DMFT in the whole sample. The study of the correlation between BMI and DMFT in patients with different types of malocclusion showed a significant inverse correlation for patients affected by II class and deepbite malocclusion. Conclusions: The incidence of caries does not seem to be significantly related to BMI and occlusal patterns, but it decreases with increasing age.

Keywords: BMI; malocclusion; caries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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