Assessing the Association Between Nutritional Status, Caries, and Gingivitis in Schoolchildren: A Cross-Sectional Study

The effect of body weight and psychological characteristics on periodontal disease development

AIM

The aim of the study was to examine the association between periodontal health in young patients with various body mass indexes and psychological traits such as temperament, level of anxiety, and autonomic nervous system tone.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Assess Dental Caries, Overweight and Obesity in Schoolchildren in the City of Alfenas, Brazil

Childhood-related obesity and overweight are increasing concerns for the health and well-being of children. Dental caries (decay) is the most prevalent oral disease during childhood, and several studies have suggested that nutritional status and dental caries are associated in children. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the geographic distribution of childhood overweight/obesity and dental caries in a medium-sized Brazilian city. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 269 children of both genders enrolled in four public schools in the city of Alfenas. The children were clinically examined to assess cavitated dental caries and nutritional status (overweight and obesity). In addition, the GIS was used for the geospatial clustering analyses. A heat map was created by the Kemel method to estimate the concentration of the outcomes. The cavitated dental caries and overweight/obesity were also pointed out by dots on the map. However, of the 269 children, 118 were boys (43.87%) and 151 were girls (56.13%). One hundred fifty-seven children (58.4%) were classified as having "non-cavitated caries," while 112 (41.6%) were classified as having "cavitied caries." In the nutritional status assessment, 204 children (75.84%) were classified as "eutrophic," while 65 children (24.16%) were classified as "overweight/obesity," A geographical correlation of dental caries with overweight/obesity may exist in the northeast and southwest areas. In conclusion, a geographical concordance between the dental caries and the occurrence of overweight/obesity among the schoolchildren from Alfenas may exist in some areas. Future studies are necessary.

Nutritional Status is Associated with Permanent Tooth Eruption in a Group of Brazilian School Children

The present study aimed to investigate the association between nutritional status with delayed tooth eruption (DTE). Oral examination was performed in schoolchildren (8-11 years old), and DTE was defined by absence of dental gingival emergence or when primary tooth was still present in the oral cavity after the expected time. BMI z-score of each child were collected and nutritional status was defined. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression adjusted by age and gender were performed. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) were calculated. The established alpha was 5%. Among 353 included children, 247 were classified as eutrophic, 16 as underweight, 64 as overweight, and 26 as obese. Underweight was associated as a risk factor to DTE (P = .014; OR = 3.5; 95% CI = 1.3-9.8), and underweight girls had more chance to present DTE than eutrophic girls (P = .048; OR = 4.4; 95% CI = 1.1-17.2) in chi square test. In logistic regression, underweight was associated as a risk factor to DTE (OR = 4.21; CI 95% = 1.42-12.43; P = .009). Underweight children have a higher risk of DTE in permanents.