Oral health condition among overweight children aged 6-11 year old in Baghdad Iraq

Abstract EN

Background : The overweight and obesity have serious health consequences including the health of oral cavity.

The aims of the present study were to assess the oral health condition among the overweight children and compare them with the normal weighted children of the same age and gender.

Materials and Methods : The total sample composed of 478 children aged 6-11 years that were selected from (4650) children selected randomly from 12 primary schools.

Two hundred and thirty nine normal weighted and 239 overweight children were included.

The assessment of nutritional status was performed using body mass index specific for age and gender.

The diagnosis and recording of dental caries was according to Manji et al (1) plaque index of Silness and Loe (2) was used for plaque assessment, gingival index of Loe and Silness (3) was used for gingival health condition, Ramfjord index teeth (4) were applied to assess oral cleanliness and gingival condition.

Results : The results showed that the caries experience among the overweight for the primary and permanent dentition were significantly lower than that among the normal weighted children, while the mean of plaque and gingival indices were found to be higher among the overweight children.

Conclusion : The weight status affects the oral health by decreasing the dental caries among the overweight children and higher plaque and gingivitis.