Body mass index and dental caries in children and adolescents : a systematic review of literature published 2004 to 2011

The objectiveThe authors undertook an updated systematic review of the relationship between body mass index and dental caries in children and adolescents.MethodThe authors searched Medline, ISI, Cochrane, Scopus, Global Health and CINAHL databases and conducted lateral searches from reference lists for papers published from 2004 to 2011, inclusive. All empirical papers that tested associations between body mass index and dental caries in child and adolescent populations (aged 0 to 18 years) were included.ResultsDental caries is associated with both high and low body mass index.ConclusionA non-linear association between body mass index and dental caries may account for inconsistent findings in previous research. We recommend future research investigate the nature of the association between body mass index and dental caries in samples that include a full range of body mass index scores, and explore how factors such as socioeconomic status mediate the association between body mass index and dental caries.<br /

Microbiota in the oral subgingival biofilm is associated with obesity in adolescence

To test the hypothesis whether microbiota in oral biofilm is linked with obesity in adolescents we designed this cross-sectional study. Obese adolescents (n = 29) with a mean age of 14.7 years and normal weight subjects (n = 58) matched by age and gender were examined with respect to visible plaque index (VPI%) and gingival inflammation (bleeding on probing (BOP%)). Stimulated saliva was collected. They answered a questionnaire concerning medical history, medication, oral hygiene habits, smoking habits, and sociodemographic background. Microbiological samples taken from the gingival crevice was analyzed by checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization technique. The sum of bacterial cells in subgingival biofilm was significantly associated with obesity (P < 0.001). The link between sum of bacterial cells and obesity was not confounded by any of the studied variables (chronic disease, medication, VPI%, BOP%, flow rate of whole saliva, or meal frequency). Totally 23 bacterial species were present in approximately threefold higher amounts, on average, in obese subjects compared with normal weight controls. Of the Proteobacteria phylum, Campylobacter rectus and Neisseria mucosa were present in sixfold higher amounts among obese subjects. The association between obesity and sum of bacterial cells in oral subgingival biofilm indicates a possible link between oral microbiota and obesity in adolescents. © 2011 The Obesity Society.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Obesity and dental caries: systematic review

OBJECTIVE Identifying, through a systematic literature review, evidence of a possible association between obesity and dental caries. METHODS A search of articles published between 2005 and January 2012 was performed in the Medline/PubMed, LILACS and Web of Science databases. The quality of scientific evidence of the selected articles was assessed by the items proposed for observational studies in the Downs & Black instrument. RESULTS Initially, 537 references were found; after checking the titles and abstracts by two independent researchers, twenty-eight articles were selected for complete reading. Ten of them that assessed the primary and/or permanent dentition observed a positive association between obesity and dental caries and one study found an inverse association. According to the Downs & Black classification, thirteen articles with good scientific evidence were found. CONCLUSIONS The present review did not find sufficient evidence regarding the association between obesity and dental caries, and it did not clarify the possible role of diet and other possible effect modifiers on this association.Alexandre Emidio Ribeiro Silva, Ana Maria Baptista Menezes, Flávio Fernando Demarco, Fabiana Vargas-Ferreira, Marco Aurélio Pere