Oral Health Survey among Adolescents Undergoing Obesity Treatment

Abstract Background: Besides the bad nutritional habits, it has been studied that systemic changes induced by obesity may have repercussions on oral environment. This study evaluated the oral health status of obese adolescents undergoing follow-up at a tertiary hospital in Portugal. Methods: Ninety subjects were classified as obese or severe obese according to the World Health Organization references. Caries experience and periodontal condition were determined by the DMFT index (decayed, missing and filled teeth) and Community Periodontal Index (CPI), respectively. The data for the ages 12 and 15 were compared using Wilcoxon test for one sample to the National Prevalence Study of Oral Diseases (NPSOD), performed in Portugal and published in 2008 and 2015. Results: A mean BMI of 29.4 (± 4.1) was observed, and 64.4% (n = 58) of the subjects were diagnosed with severe obesity. The DMFT of obese adolescents was similar to that of the Portuguese population. At 12 years of age, obese individuals were found to have fewer missing teeth (p = 0.001) and more sealed teeth than those of the same age in Portugal in 2008 (p = 0.012) and 2015 (p = 0.001). At age 15, obese adolescents had fewer decayed teeth (p = 0.017) than individuals of the same age in Portugal (NPSOD, 2008). Conclusions: Obese children and adolescents presented an oral health status similar to that of the Portuguese population at the same age according to the majority of the criteria. These findings can be explained by the health care provided with repeated recommendations for oral hygiene.