INFLUENCE OF BODY MASS INDEX ON DENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND GINGIVAL INFLAMMATION IN CHILDREN OF 6-12 YEARS OLD

INFLUENCE OF BODY MASS INDEX ON DENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND GINGIVAL INFLAMMATION IN CHILDREN OF 6-12 YEARS OLD (Abstract):Aim: Our study aims to assess the influence of BMI (Body Mass Index) on dental development and gingival in-flammation in children aged 6-12 years old.Material and methods: The study was conduct-ed on a group of 153 children aged 6 to 12 years, which were divided into three categories: normal weight, overweight and obese patients. Dental development estimation was per-formed using the Demirjian method, by using orthopantomographies. For each patient, chronological age, BMI, plaque index (PI) and gingival index (GI) were recorded.Results: The mean difference between chronological and dental age for the whole study group was 0.66 +/- 0.5 years. The mean value of the difference between chronological age and dental age for overweight and obese subjects was 0.81 +/- 0.43 years and 1.1 +/- 0.45 years, respectively. A significant correlation between BMI and GI was observed for male subjects. No correlations were found between BMI and chronological age, or between BMI and dental age. It was found correlation between BMI and the difference between chronological age and dental age.Conclusions: In the group of obese children there was a greater difference between chrono-logical age and dental age compared to overweight and normal weight children, indicating that permanent teeth are likely to erupt at a younger age among obese and overweight pediat- ric patients.