The State of Oral Health in Children With Increased Body Weight In Montenegro

Background/Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the state of oral health in children with increased body weight in Montenegro compared to children with normal body weight. Materials and methods: The study included 201 patients aged 9-14 years. Assessment of nutritional status of subjects was performed by the use of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria. The respondents were divided into group of increased body weight children (IBW) and group of normal body weight children (NBW). Presence or absence of dental caries was assessed the decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) index. The Plaque Index (PI) according to Silness-Loe and the Calculus Index (CI) by Green were used to determine oral hygiene. Modified Community Periodontal Index (CPI) was used for the assessment of periodontal tissue. Information on oral hygiene and dietary habits were obtained from the using a questionnaire. Results: There were no significant differences in the average values of the DMFT index, CI values and average CPI Index value between the observed groups. PI values in the IBW group was 1.08 +/- 0.54 while in the NBW group it was 0.89 +/- 0.53; the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.034). Children from the IBW group had significantly worse oral hygiene habits (p = 0.029). Conclusion: Children with increased body weight have no more affected teeth and they have not a worse condition of periodontal tissue in comparison to children with normal body weight. However, they have a worse condition of oral hygiene and oral hygiene habits.