Do Nutritional Status Parameters such as Body Mass Index & Mid Upperarm Circumference Need to be Taken into Account when Estimating Dental Age? A Cross-sectional study with Tooth Count as Variable

Abstract

Context: Age estimation is playing a very important role in the criminal justice system and also in the forensic human identifi cation process. Over the past several decades, the scientifi c community has done extensive work on age estimation from biological markers of growth, the dental structure being one among them. The routine dental age estimation methods usually apply the mineralization and/or the eruption parameters of the developing dentition. Certain factors like the nutritional status and the socio-economic status of the individual also may infl uence dental development and eruption. Aim: The objective of the study was to assess the link between the nutritional status and the dentition status of children and adolescents in the age range of 12 to 18 years. Settings and Design: This is a cross-sectional population based, descriptive study. Materials and Methods: The body mass index (BMI) and the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) values were measured to assess the nutritional status of the children with a mean age of 14.35 years (± 1.36). The oral examination was done to count the number of teeth present. The tooth count was compared with the BMI and the MUAC values of the children. Results: The mean BMI of the study population was 17.36 Kg/m2 ± 3.40 and the mean MUAC value was 21.53cm ± 2.93. There was a strong positive correlation between BMI and MUAC and a signifi cant diff erence in the deciduous tooth count among the BMI categories. (2 =12.161, df 3, p<0.05). Conclusion: There is no signifi cant association between BMI and deciduous tooth count in the study sample. Key Messages: The BMI and MUAC values are markers of nutritional status in growing children. Though nutritional status has a link with the tooth development, the present study could not establish a signifi cant association between BMI and deciduous tooth count in children in the age range of 12 to 18 years.