Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jan 10;7(3):65-72.
doi: 10.11138/ads/2016.7.3.065. eCollection 2016 Jul-Sep.

Childhood overweight-obesity and periodontal diseases: is there a real correlation?

Gian Luca Sfasciotti  1 , Roberta Marini  1 , Andrea Pacifici  1 , Gaetano Ierardo  1 , Luciano Pacifici  1 , Antonella Polimeni  1
Affiliations

Childhood overweight-obesity and periodontal diseases: is there a real correlation?

Gian Luca Sfasciotti et al. Ann Stomatol (Roma). .

Abstract

Objective: The association between obesity and periodontitis has been extensively investigated in adults but not in young people. The aim of this study was to examine the association between overweight-obesity and periodontal disease in pediatric subjects.

Methods: Controlled cross-sectional study involving 100 school children of both gender (50 M and 50 F) between 7 and 12 years of age (mean age 9,19±1,57). Two groups were formed based on Body Mass Index value: test group with BMI ≥ 25 Kg/m2 and control group with BMI ≤ 24 Kg/m2. Diet intake and oral hygiene habits were recorded by a specific questionnaire and the periodontal clinical parameters were evaluated.

Results: The periodontal examination in the control group revealed a full-mouth plaque score (FMPS) value equal to 21.86% against 50.08% in the group of patients overweight/obese; the full-mouth bleeding score (FMBS) in the control group amounted to 12.7% against 26.24% of test group. No patient in either group included in the study presented a probing pocket depth (PPD) ≥3, so a significant difference regarding this value was not found. Regarding the frequency and quantity of food consumption, the number of obese patients who did not follow a balanced diet largely exceeded the number of normal-weight patients (70 versus 20%).

Conclusions: These results focus the attention on the negative impact of obesity on gingival health in young subjects, probably due to a combination of metabolic and inflammatory profiles and the result of a careless attitude towards prevention diseases of the oral cavity.

Keywords: child nutrition disorders; food habits; gingival diseases; pediatric obesity; periodontal diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The Authors disclosure that they have not been any conflict of interest for the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photographic examination.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Periodontal evaluation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Characteristics of the control group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Characteristics of the test group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ritchie CS. Obesity and periodontal disease. Periodontol. 2000. 2007;44:154–163. - PubMed
    1. Pischon N, Heng N, Bernimoulin JP, Kleber BM, Willich SN, Pischon T. Obesity, inflammation, and periodontal disease. J Dent Res. 2007;86:400–409. - PubMed
    1. Zermeño-Ibarra JA, Delgado-Pastrana S, Patiño-Marín N, Loyola-Rodríguez JP. Relationship between overweight-obesity and periodontal disease in Mexico. Acta Odontol Latinoam. 2010;23(3):204–9. - PubMed
    1. Seidell JC. Obesity: a growing problem. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 1999;88(428):46–50. - PubMed
    1. Wang Y, Lobstein T. Worldwide trends in childhood overweight and obesity. Int J Pediatr Obes. 2006;1(1):11–25. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources