Dental Caries In Children Research Paper

Relationship between obesity and dental caries in Children's

In Children, does being obese (compared to normal weight children) increase the risk of having Dental caries?

Dental caries is becoming a real major concern for people worldwide about 60-90% of school children and 100% of adults have Dental Caries(1). Dental Caries commonly known as tooth decay can be defined as a transmissible bacterial disease caused mainly by bacteria producing acids and dissolving tooth minerals(2). Common distribution of Dental Caries showed that the Mandibular central incisors are the least likely to experience caries, on the other hand The Maxillary and mandibular molars showed the highest incidence rate for caries. Caries in the proximal surfaces of incisors,
canines and premolar have higher rates than other sites(3).Obesity can defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO) excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health(4). Obesity is measured by Body Mass Index (BMI) which is the persons weight (in kilograms) divided by his or her square height(in meters)(4), The BMI is considered a diagnostic tool only, it can't be used to measure body Fatness(5). there is 4 categories that BMI can fall into. If your BMI is less than 18.5 it falls within the underweight, If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9 it falls within the normal or healthy weight range, If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9 it falls within the overweight range and if your BMI is 30.0 or higher it falls within the obese range(5). The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between Obesity and Dental Caries in children's.

Literature review
Many studies have been conducted to investigate the association between obesity and dental caries in children.
Several found a significant relationship between them(6)(7), while others found a small overall association(8).Other studies showed no significant relationship between them(9)(10)(11). Multiple studies showed that both Dental caries and Obesity have similar risk factors. one of the primarily risk factors is the Diet which recent study found that children at risk of overweight had higher chance of having dental caries compared to normal weight children due to increase intake of sugar sweetened drinks and increased frequency of food (12). The socioeconomic status shows a direct relationship among children with low educated mothers and family intake(13)(12). Another important factor the Genetic and environmental
origins(7).

The outcome of some studies can't be accurately used because of the cross-sectional variables, casual relationship can't be observed So there might be unexplored factors that can't accurately identify the causative factors, also self reporting data and Socioeconomic status might change overtime and have some bias in it(10)(12). Further studies is needed to accurately identify the risk factors by having a strict defined research including longitudinal studies to identify factors influencing both pathways of Obesity and Dental Caries(10)

1. WHO | Oral health. World Health Organization; [cited 2015 Oct 17]; Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs318/en/#.ViH1alPN244.mendeley
2. Featherstone J. Dental caries: a dynamic disease process. Aust Dent J [Internet]. 2008;53(3):286–91. Available from: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1834-7819.2008.00064.x
3. Demirci M, Tuncer S, Yuceokur AA. Prevalence of caries on individual tooth surfaces and its distribution by age and gender in university clinic patients. Eur J Dent [Internet]. 2010;4(3):270–9. Available from: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2897860&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract
4. WHO | Obesity. World Health Organization; [cited 2015 Oct 17]; Available from: http://www.who.int/topics/obesity/en/
5. Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Adult: Defining - DNPAO - CDC [Internet]. [cited 2015 Oct 17]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html
6.
Costacurta M, DiRenzo L, Sicuro L, Gratteri S, De Lorenzo a, Docimo R. Dental caries and childhood obesity: analysis of food intakes, lifestyle. Eur J Paediatr Dent [Internet]. 2014;15(4):343–8. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25517577
7. Aula Médica España Yao G, Aula Médica Madrid G, Yao Y, Ren X, Song X, He L, et al. The relationship between dental caries and obesity among primary school children aged 5 to 14 years. Nutr Hosp [Internet]. 2014;3030(11):60–6560. Available from: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=309231672008
8. Hayden C, Bowler JO. Obesity and dental caries in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
9. Lempert SM, Froberg K, Christensen LB, Kristensen PL, Heitmann BL. Association between body mass index and caries among children and adolescents. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2014;42(1):53–60.
10. Hong L, Ahmed A, McCunniff M, Overman P, Mathew M. Obesity and Dental Caries in Children Aged 2-6 Years in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002. J Public Health Dent [Internet]. 2008;68(4):227–33. Available from: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1752-7325.2008.00083.x
11. Tripathi S, Kamala Bk KK. Relationship between obesity and dental caries in children -A preliminary study. J Int Oral Heal.
2010;2(4).
12. Marshall_et_al-2007-Community_Dentistry_and_Oral_Epidemiology.
13. Pinto A, Suhn K;, Wadenya R, Rosenberg H. Evidence-Based Dentistry Is There an Association Between Weight and Dental Caries Among Pediatric Patients in an Urban Dental School? A Correlation Study. J Dent Educ. 2007;