Abstract
Research Motivation: Despite improvement of the trends in levels and experiences of dental caries in developed countries, it remains prevalent and is increasing in some developing countries. In this study we assessed the relationship between dietary regimens and dental caries in 9-year-old students in Tehran, Iran. Research Design/Methodology: The sample was selected by using multi-stage sampling from all the public primary schools in Tehran. 560 students were assessed using WHO questionnaires and dental examinations according to WHO criteria by indices of dmft and DMFT. The frequency of nutritional snacks consumed was determined in the following week on each individual. The acquired data were described according to abundance charts and indices of means and standard deviations. A linear regression test also was used. Main findings and implications: The mean dmft and DMFT of the students were 3.93 and 0.79 respectively. The study showed that the use of snacks such as cream-filled biscuits (P=0.030), plain cakes (P=0.048), cookies (P=0.008), caramel cream (P=0.009), milk-based ice creams (P=0.017), hard candies (P=0.003), popcorn (P=0.013), cheesy snacks (P=0.000), and bananas (P=0.002) significantly increased dmft in the study group. Furthermore, the use of snacks such as pistachios (P=0.036), cookies (P=0.03), caramel cream (P=0.048) and sugar-based chewing gums (P=0.008) showed a consequential relationship with the increase in DMFT. According to the results, the variety of the consumed snacks was high among 9-year-old students. The dietary habits including Oranges, Pies and Caramel Cream affected the incidence of the dental caries in both deciduous and permanent teeth.
Highlights
The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between dietary habits and dental caries experience among 9-year-old students of elementary schools of districts 4, 7 & 5 of Tehran, Iran during 2011
The results of the dental examination of the cases showed that 74 (13.2%) of the students in their deciduous teeth and 364 students (65.0%) in their permanent teeth did not have any dental caries, teeth removal or restorations. dmft of the study group was estimated 3.93(95%CI 3.71, 4.15) and their DMFT 0.79 (Table 1)
The results of the regression test using the backward method indicated that the values of dmft and DMFT were significantly higher among boys compared to the girls (p< 0.0001 in deciduous teeth and p
Summary
The importance of dietary regimen and its influence on dental caries is well established in numerous studies. There are considerable numbers of studies that found fermentable carbohydrates to have a significant effect on the initiation and advancement of dental caries (Bibby ,1975; Finn et al, 1975; Gustaffson ,1954; Newburn ,1979; Rugg-Gunn et al, 1984; Shaw ,1983;Woodward et al.,1994). In a research study by Woodward et al, (1994) the relationship between the dietary regimen and dental caries has not been yet confirmed, there is a significant relationship between them in developing countries. The school cafeterias of Iran offer a wide selection of these sticky and sweet snacks without any supervision, which has raised concerns about the students’ dental caries
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