Carina Balcoș, Cătălina Iulia Săveanu, Dana Budală, Maria Bolat, Loredana Hurjui, Sorana Roșu, Magda Bârlean, Adina Armencia, Anca Melian
Abstract
Dental caries is the most prevalent oral disease and is caused by a complex interaction of tooth susceptibility, nutrition, and oral environment. Aim: Aim of this study was to determine the association between the consumption of sweetened foods and beverages and its relation with the experience of dental caries among schoolchildren in Iasi, Romania. Material and methods: A specially designed questionnaire was used to collect information regarding type of sugar intake, frequency of sugar consumption. All the children were examined clinically to assess their dmft/DMFT score. Results: Over 70% of the children in this study had dental caries. The percentage of subjects free of dental caries was 49.8% for boys and 46.4% for girls. Female subjects stated consume sweetened foods to a greater extent than male subjects (67.6%). Consumption of sweetened foods between meals or at lunch is reported in a higher proportion by female subjects (68.9%, respectively 64.4%). Male subjects consumed a greater number of sweetened drinks a day, while 88.9% of female subjects consume only sweetened drinks once a day. The results of the analysis regarding the association between the frequency of food consumption and sweetened beverages with the dmft scores showed a positive correlation between them, the relation being statistically significant (r = 0.046, p = 0.13). Conclusion: Dental caries is a major public health problem because of the prevalence of dental caries among schoolchildren that has been shown to be high. The study indicated a statistical relationship between the frequency of consumption with the prevalence of dental caries and dmft score and the need to implement dental health and nutrition intervention programs for schoolchildren.