Association Between Obesity And Oral Health in Ghanaian School Children: The Role of Dietary And Oral Hygiene Practices

Abstract   

Background: Obesity is associated with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, caries and periodontal diseases, and other morbidities. The association between childhood obesity and oral disease is, however, not well defined. This study examined the association between obesity and oral health in school children and explored possible dietary and oral hygiene risk factors. The study hypothesized that there was poorer oral hygiene status and higher caries and gum disease among the obese than the non-obese. Also oral bacteria associated with caries and gum diseases would be more common in obese than the non-obese school children. Method: The first phase of the study consisted of a single cross-sectional survey of 547 school children from private schools in Accra made up of 233 obese and 314 non-obese schools children between the ages of 9 and 15 years. Dietary and oral hygiene information were collected and respondents were orally examined by two dental surgeons. The second phase was a case-control design of 493 public school children made of 210 cases of caries and gum diseases, and 283 controls. Bacteria samples were cultured from oral plaque samples collected from 75 obese and 75 non-obese children. Results: Mean age of the school children from the private school was 11.5 ±1.7. Dietary habits and oral hygiene practices as well as caries and gum disease prevalence were similar in the obese and non-obese children. Caries prevalence among the obese was 14.9% and among the non-obese was 15.1%. The caries experience among the 12 years old (WHO index age for caries) obese children was 15.4% and among the non-obese was 8.2%. Gum disease prevalence among the obese was 3.7% and among the non-obese was 5.5%. None of these differences was significant, p>0.05. The overall oral disease (caries and gum disease) prevalence among the children was 19.2% and not different by obesity status.