Creske Mary, Modeste Naomi, Hopp Joyce, Rajaram Sujatha, Cort David
Assistant professor of dental hygiene at Loma Linda University.
J Dent Hyg. 2013 Feb;87(1):38-46. Epub 2013 Feb 5.
The purpose of this observational study was to examine the association between body mass index and dental caries in Hispanic children. The research evaluated the influences of obesity, diet, parent education level, family acculturation, tooth brushing habits and gender as predictors of childhood caries.
One examiner visually screened 177 third grade students from 3 elementary schools located in southern California's Coachella Valley. The children were screened for number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT). Height, weight, age and gender determined their body mass index. Primary caregivers completed a 30-point questionnaire for each participant. Multivariate analyses accessed the association between childhood dental caries and weight status and the influences of the measured variables.
Results indicate that those in the obese category had a statistically significant lower rate of DMFT than did children in the healthy weight category. Overweight children showed a higher DMFT than healthy weight children but the results were not statistically significant. Covariates that significantly influenced this association were diet and socioeconomic status.
Results from this study provide oral health professionals with baseline data and literature to support development of preventive programs for this population that concurrently address both obesity and oral health issues in scope and design.
本观察性研究旨在探讨西班牙裔儿童体重指数与龋齿之间的关联。该研究评估了肥胖、饮食、家长教育水平、家庭文化适应程度、刷牙习惯和性别等因素作为儿童龋齿预测指标的影响。
一名检查人员对来自南加州科切拉山谷地区3所小学的177名三年级学生进行了视觉筛查。检查这些儿童的龋、失、补牙数（DMFT）。身高、体重、年龄和性别用于确定他们的体重指数。主要照顾者为每位参与者填写一份30分的问卷。多变量分析评估了儿童龋齿与体重状况之间的关联以及所测量变量的影响。
结果表明，肥胖组儿童的DMFT率在统计学上显著低于健康体重组儿童。超重儿童的DMFT高于健康体重儿童，但结果无统计学意义。对这种关联有显著影响的协变量是饮食和社会经济地位。
本研究结果为口腔健康专业人员提供了基线数据和文献，以支持针对该人群制定预防计划，该计划在范围和设计上同时解决肥胖和口腔健康问题。
