Abstract
Background: Dental caries area public health problem. Its prevalence is about 60% in the Pakistani population.
 Purpose: The purpose of this study was to correlate the association between decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) score and its body mass index in patients visiting the Dental Department of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro.
 Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2021 to May 2021 at the Department of Operative Dentistry Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences. Patients with age 16 to 70 years with presence of atleast 15 to 18 permanent teeth were included in te study. Patients having primary teeth were set in exclusion criteria. For Dental caries status, decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index was used. Height and weight were measured using digital scales. BMI was calculated according to the formula weight in kilograms/height in centimeters. Data were analyzed for descriptive statistics. One Way ANOVA test was used for association. The statistical significance level was evaluated at p<0.05
 Results: We were able to obtain the data of a total of 203 patients of which 57% were female.The mean age was 36.7±13.8. ). The mean DMTF score was 5.7±3.7. In association of BMI with DMTF score, females BMI was statistically significant with DMTF score with p=0.039 and in overall was also significant p =0.002
 Conclusion: DMFT score was higher in overweight and obese individuals and it was significant statistically. However, large community based studies are required to confirm the association.
Highlights
Dental caries or tooth decay is a chronic oral health condition caused by the destruction of the tooth by turning sugars into acid by certain bacteria [1]
The role of body weight and development of dental caries has been investigated in many studies in North America and European countries as obesity prevalence is nearly 50% in these countries and many health issues associated with obesity and the development of dental caries may share a common etiological pathway through dietary behaviors[4]
Dental caries status was determined by using the WHO criteria for caries diagnosis i-e decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) Index.Teeth showing signs of cavitation, roughening, color change are considered as decayed
Summary
Dental caries or tooth decay is a chronic oral health condition caused by the destruction of the tooth by turning sugars into acid by certain bacteria [1]. Around 2.5 billion individuals are thought to be affected by this condition, with 60– 90 percent of children and almost 100 percent of adults having dental cavities, which can cause pain and suffering [2]. The prevalence of dental caries in Pakistan is estimated at 60% in the general population [3]. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to correlate the association between decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) score and its body mass index in patients visiting the Dental Department of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro.
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