Measurement of association between malocclusion, nutritional status, and dental trauma in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Background: With the decrease in the incidence of dental caries globally, traumatic dental injury (TDI) has emerged as a major cause of morbidity and distress among adolescents. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of TDI and explore its association with malocclusion and nutritional status among adolescent population of Udupi taluk, Karnataka state, India. Methods: The sample consisted of 770 children, from randomly selected schools in Udupi taluk. An anthropometric measurement was done to record the “body mass index”, an oral examination was done to record the “Dental Aesthetic Index” for malocclusion and “Andreasen classification” for TDI. Statistical analysis included chi-square test and bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression. A p value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of TDI was 11.8%. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 20.3%. The prevalence of malocclusion recorded in the study population was 49.8%. When prevalence of TDI was compared against gender, the type of school attended, and presence/absence of malocclusion, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in prevalence of trauma between the aforementioned parameters (p ≤ 0.05). Results of the multivariate analysis through logistic regression indicated that being a male [3.87 (3.21–4.72)], attending a public school [1.41 (1.19–1.63)], and having malocclusion [1.55 (1.32–1.71)] significantly increased the odds of sustaining TDI. Conclusion: The results indicated a strong association between TDI, gender, the type of school attended, and malocclusion, and they have important implications toward the health and well-being of the individual communities.