The association between body mass index and gross dental caries in a population of 3- to 5- year-old children attending kindergartens in Rasht, Iran

Dental caries as the most common childhood disease can cause pain and difficulty eating. The aim of this study was to determine the association between gross dental caries and body mass index (BMI) among children attending kindergartens in Rasht, Iran.

A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was carried out on 402 3- to-5-year-old children who were randomly selected from kindergartens of Rasht, Iran. All dental exams and anthropometric measurements for each child were performed by a trained examiner. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS 19, and the Z-score index was determined. The Monte Carlo statistical method was applied to compare the relationship between dental caries and BMI. Moreover, the relationship between dental caries and other factors was evaluated using a Chi-square test and P<0.05 was considered significant.

In this study, 43.5% of children had dental caries. Based on the results, a significant relationship was observed between dental caries and BMI-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height indices (P=0.02, P=0.004 and P=0.017). The underweight children had higher dental caries experience. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between dental caries and parents’ education level.

According to the findings, the underweight children had higher dental caries experience so there may be an association between low BMI and caries experience in children.