The relationship between obesity and oral health

Introduction: Obesity as a pervasive phenomenon in recent years has the risky consequences on public and oral health and endangers the teeth especially periodontal tissues. This aim of this study was to assess the relationship of oral health (teeth and periodontal tissue) with obesity and anthropometric measures such as waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). Materials &Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 180 subjects in 3 groups of normal weight, over-weight and obese. Periodontal pocket depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BOP) and Community Periodontal Index (CPI) were recorded.  Multivariate logistic regression was also applied after adjusting for the confounding factors. Results: Of 180 subjects, 54, 68 and 58 cases were normal, overweight and obese. 75 and 105 participants were male and female, respectively. Generally, a pocket depth was increased 1.394 times with one unit increase of BMI (OR: 1.394, 95% CI: 0.936-2.077). Dental caries index enhanced to 1.036 with one unit increase of waist circumference (WC) (OR: 1.036, 95% CI: 1.001-1.071). One centimeter rise of WC increased CPI up to 0.625 times (OR: 1.122, 95% CI: 0.053-0.078). Conclusion: Obesity even in the absence of underlying systemic diseases can cause the potential risk in oral health.