Journal of North Khorasan

Background & objectives: Excessive consumption of fats and carbohydrates are the main causes of obesity and tooth decay. Results of previous studies on the relationship between body mass index and tooth decay is different and somewhat inconsistent. The main aim of this study was to examine the association between body mass index and dental caries in 14 year old students in Bojnurd, Iran. Materials & Methods: The design of study was cross-sectional. A random sample of 298 children (160 boys and 138 girls) aged 14 years was examined for dental caries using WHO standard diagnostic criteria. Decayed, missing and filled of permanent teeth (DMFT) were recorded. The children’s weight and height were measured and their BMI were calculated. Data was analyzed by chi- square, t-student, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS19 software. Results: The mean decayed, missing and filled teeth score of the study population was 2.68 ± 2.4. In subjects, 27% of the children were underweight and 4.2% were obese.There were no significant differences in the DMFT score of carious children among different BMI groups. Conclusion: Results of this study showed there was no statistically significant difference between BMI and DMFT. This research showed that probably BMI and DMFT are separate phenomena.