Dental caries in adolescents and its association with excess weight and sociodemographic factors in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

Authors

  • Carlos Alberto Tambelini Universidade Norte do Paraná
  • Denise Maimone Ramos Universidade Norte do Paraná
  • Regina Célia Poli-Frederico Universidade Norte do Paraná
  • Cristina Simões Carvalho Tomasetti Universidade Norte do Paraná
  • Terezinha de Jesus Esteves Barata Universidade Norte do Paraná
  • Sandra Mara Maciel Universidade Norte do Paraná

Keywords:

Dental caries, obesity, overweight, demographic indicators, socioeconomic factors, adolescent

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of dental caries and investigate its association with sociodemographic factors and excess weight in adolescents. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with a sample of 424 adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age. The prevalence of dental caries was assessed according to criteria defined by the WHO (1997); sociodemographic characteristics were obtained through interviews with the adolescents, and nutritional status was determined by the body mass index. Statistical analysis was based on the Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests using a 5% significance level. Results: The prevalence of dental caries was 72.9% with an average DMFT (decayed, missing and filled teeth) index of 2.93. Excess weight was diagnosed in 22.4% of the adolescents. Factors that were associated with a greater severity included residence/school on the west side of the city (P < 0.0001), 17 years of age (P=0.026), dark skin (P=0.005), lower education level (P < 0.0001), higher maternal age (P=0.050), and lower family income (P=0.033). Despite an absence of statistical significance, the greatest dental caries severity was found among overweight adolescents and the lowest severity was found among obese adolescents. Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors have an important influence on the prevalence of dental caries in the study population. Greater excess weight was not associated with dental caries.

Author Biographies

Carlos Alberto Tambelini, Universidade Norte do Paraná

Mestre em Dentística Preventiva e Restauradora pela Universidade Norte do Paraná (UNOPAR). Londrina – Paraná, Brasil.

Denise Maimone Ramos, Universidade Norte do Paraná

Mestre em Dentística Preventiva e Restauradora pela Universidade Norte do Paraná (UNOPAR). Londrina – Paraná, Brasil.

Regina Célia Poli-Frederico, Universidade Norte do Paraná

Profª. Adjunta do Departamento de Odontologia da UNOPAR – Londrina/PR, Brasil.

Cristina Simões Carvalho Tomasetti, Universidade Norte do Paraná

Profª. do Curso de Nutrição da UNOPAR –Londrina/PR, Brasil.

Terezinha de Jesus Esteves Barata, Universidade Norte do Paraná

Profª. Adjunta do Departamento de Odontologia Restauradora da UNOPAR. Londrina/PR, Brasil.

Sandra Mara Maciel, Universidade Norte do Paraná

Profª. Associada do Departamento de Odontologia da Universidade Estadual de Maringá e Profª. Adjunta do Departamento de Odontologia da UNOPAR. Londrina/PR, Brasil.

Downloads

Published

2010-09-25

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 3 (2010)

Section

Original Article

License

COPYRIGHT
The submission of originals to Odonto Ciência implies the transfer by the authors of the right for publication. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. If the authors wish to include the same data into another publication, they must cite Odonto Ciência as the site of original publication.

CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE
As this journal is open access, the articles are allowed free use in scientific and educational applications, with citation of the source.
According to the type of Creative Commons License (CC-BY 4.0) adopted by Odonto Ciência, the user must respect the requirements below.

You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

However, only under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests Odonto Ciência endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.

For more details on the Creative Commons license, please follow the link in the footer of this website.