Relationship of body mass index and dental caries with oral health related quality of life among adolescents of Udupi district, South India

Aim: To evaluate the relationship of body mass index (BMI) and dental caries with oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adolescents of Udupi district, India. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 13-15-year-old adolescents was conducted. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on age, gender, type of school, frequency of sugar consumption and child oral impacts on dental performances (OIDP). Weight, height and dental caries were recorded as per standard guidelines. Results: Of 456 children, 34.4 % were overweight/obese. There was a significant difference in the distribution of overweight/obese adolescents with respect to age, gender and frequency of sugar consumption. The prevalence of impacts ranged from 7.4-32.8 % in low normal and 12.9-49.7 % in overweight/obese adolescents. Impacts while eating were most frequently reported in both low normal (32.8 %) and overweight/obese (49.7 %) adolescents. There was a significantly higher mean for overweight/obese than low normal adolescents for items related to "eating", "speaking", "sleeping", "smiling", "emotional status", OIDP total score and caries. BMI and decayed teeth (DT) showed significant association with OIDP-Additive score. Conclusion: Adolescents with caries and increased BMI had poor OHRQoL.