{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,30]],"date-time":"2026-04-30T15:19:35Z","timestamp":1777562375233,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]],"date-time":"2024-02-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1706745600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>(1) Background: Childhood obesity and dental caries are common chronic conditions with multiple contributing factors, linked to negative health consequences and significant expenses in healthcare. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between obesity and dental caries in school-aged children; (2) Methods: Data from 3323 6\u201312-year-old children from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011\u20132016 were analyzed. The NHANES was conducted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States. The CDC standard was used to define obesity. Dental caries was measured during clinical examinations and summarized using DMFT scores for caries experience and prevalence (dt &gt; 0) for untreated caries. The study examined the correlation between obesity and dental caries using regression models that considered demographic variables, family socioeconomic status, and the child\u2019s intake of added sugars as controlling factors; (3) Results: The association between obesity and dental caries was not significant in either unadjusted or adjusted models; and (4) Conclusion: The data indicate that untreated caries and caries experiences are not directly correlated with childhood obesity. There are, however, common causes of poor dental health and childhood obesity: culture, poverty level, lifestyle, and family traditions and habits. Dentists must be aware of factors influencing the development of childhood caries so that they can intervene as early as possible.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13030860","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]],"date-time":"2024-02-01T09:43:22Z","timestamp":1706780602000},"page":"860","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Obesity and Dental Caries in School Children"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7277-1291","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amir","family":"Mohajeri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dental Medicine, Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, UT 84095, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gabrielle","family":"Berg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dental Medicine, Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, UT 84095, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"April","family":"Watts","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dental Medicine, Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, UT 84095, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5985-6538","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Val Joseph","family":"Cheever","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dental Medicine, Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, UT 84095, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2827-3740","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Man","family":"Hung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Dental Medicine, Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, UT 84095, USA"},{"name":"George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT 84148, USA"},{"name":"Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84113, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2627","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(17)32129-3","article-title":"Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: A pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128\u00b79 million children, adolescents, and adults","volume":"390","author":"Abdeen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.1111\/ipd.12484","article-title":"Early childhood caries epidemiology, aetiology, risk assessment, societal burden, management, education, and policy: Global perspective","volume":"29","author":"Tinanoff","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Paediatr. Dent."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2023, September 12). Obesity and Overweight. Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/obesity-and-overweight."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023, September 12). Obesity, Available online: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/healthyschools\/obesity\/index.htm#print."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023, September 12). Prevalence of Total and Untreated Dental Caries Among Youth: United States, 2015\u20132016, Available online: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/products\/databriefs\/db307.htm#:~:text=For%202015%E2%80%932016%2C%20prevalence%20of."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"1","article-title":"Dental Caries and Sealant Prevalence in Children and Adolescents in the United States, 2011\u20132012 Key Findings","volume":"191","author":"Dye","year":"2015","journal-title":"NCHS. Data Brief."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"230","DOI":"10.1159\/000484988","article-title":"Association between Dental Caries and BMI in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis","volume":"52","author":"Chen","year":"2018","journal-title":"Caries Res."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Paisi, M., Kay, E., Bennett, C., Kaimi, I., Witton, R., Nelder, R., and Lapthorne, D. (2019). Body mass index and dental caries in young people: A systematic review. BMC Pediatr., 19.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12887-019-1511-x"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12960","DOI":"10.1111\/obr.12960","article-title":"Obesity and dental caries in early childhood: A systematic review and meta-analyses","volume":"21","author":"Manohar","year":"2019","journal-title":"Obes. Rev."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"1029","article-title":"Dental Caries in Relation to Obesity in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis","volume":"10","author":"Alotaibi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ann. Med. Health Sci. Res."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Issrani, R., Reddy, J., Bader, A.K., Albalawi, R.F.H., Alserhani, E.D.M., Alruwaili, D.S.R., Alanazi, G.R.A., Alruwaili, N.S.R., Sghaireen, M.G., and Rao, K. (2023). Exploring an Association between Body Mass Index and Oral Health\u2014A Scoping Review. Diagnostics, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics13050902"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ben-Assuli, O., Bar, O., Geva, G., Siri, S., Tzur, D., and Almoznino, G. (2023). Body Mass Index and Caries: Machine Learning and Statistical Analytics of the Dental, Oral, Medical Epidemiological (DOME) Nationwide Big Data Study. Metabolites, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/metabo13010037"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ramirez, I., Alves, D.E., Kuchler, P.C., Madalena, I.R., Lima, D.C.d., Barbosa, M.C.F., Oliveira, M.A.H.d.M., Thedei J\u00fanior, G., Baratto-Filho, F., and K\u00fcchler, E.C. (2023). Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to Assess Dental Caries, Overweight and Obesity in Schoolchildren in the City of Alfenas, Brazil. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 20.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20032443"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"449","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0528.2006.00353.x","article-title":"Dental caries and childhood obesity: Roles of diet and socioeconomic status","volume":"35","author":"Marshall","year":"2007","journal-title":"Community Dent. Oral Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13075","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-14668-y","article-title":"Metagenomic analysis reveals associations between salivary microbiota and body composition in early childhood","volume":"12","author":"Coker","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1126","DOI":"10.4103\/njcp.njcp_1760_21","article-title":"Salivary flow rate, pH, and buffer capacity in the individuals with obesity and overweight; A meta-analysis","volume":"25","author":"Hatipoglu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Niger. J. Clin. Pract."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"579","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens11050579","article-title":"Exploring the Relationship between Salivary Levels of TNF-\u03b1, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus gasseri, Obesity, and Caries in Early Childhood","volume":"11","author":"Leme","year":"2022","journal-title":"Pathogens"},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"CD012292","article-title":"Environmental interventions to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and their effects on health","volume":"6","author":"Stratil","year":"2019","journal-title":"Cochrane Database Syst. Rev."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"National Center for Health Statistics (2024, January 05). NCHS Ethics Review Board (ERB) Approval, Available online: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nhanes\/irba98.htm."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"National Center for Health Statistics (2023, May 23). NHANES Response Rates and Population Totals. Centers for Disease Control, Available online: https:\/\/wwwn.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nhanes\/responserates.aspx#population-totals."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"National Center for Health Statistics (2023, May 24). National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Available online: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nhanes\/."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Muswell Hill Smile (2024, January 05). The Transition between the Primary and Permanent Teeth. Available online: https:\/\/muswellhillsmile.co.uk\/blog\/transition-between-primary-and-permanent-teeth\/#:~:text=Between%206%2D8%20years%20of%20to%20replace%20their%20deciduous%20predecessors."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2023, May 24). Oral Health Examiners Manual. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 2020, Available online: www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/data\/nhanes\/2019-2020\/manuals\/2020-Oral-Health-Examiners-Manual-508.pdf."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2023, May 24). Anthropometry Procedures Manual. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Available online: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/data\/nhanes\/nhanes_07_08\/manual_an.pdf."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023, May 24). Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity. About Child & Teen BMI, Available online: https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/healthyweight\/assessing\/bmi\/childrens_bmi\/about_childrens_bmi.html."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.3945\/an.115.009258","article-title":"Update on NHANES Dietary Data: Focus on Collection, Release, Analytical Considerations, and Uses to Inform Public Policy","volume":"7","author":"Ahluwalia","year":"2016","journal-title":"Adv. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"USDA (2023, May 24). Food Patterns Equivalents Database, Available online: https:\/\/www.ars.usda.gov\/northeast-area\/beltsville-md-bhnrc\/beltsville-human-nutrition-research-center\/food-surveys-research-group\/docs\/fped-overview\/."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"691","DOI":"10.1089\/chi.2015.0029","article-title":"The Relationship between Childhood Obesity, Low Socioeconomic Status, and Race\/Ethnicity: Lessons from Massachusetts","volume":"11","author":"Rogers","year":"2015","journal-title":"Child. Obes."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"578","DOI":"10.1001\/archpedi.160.6.578","article-title":"Obesity Among US Urban Preschool Children","volume":"160","author":"Whitaker","year":"2006","journal-title":"Arch. Pediat. Adolesc. Med."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"301","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cden.2013.01.001","article-title":"The Impact of Gender on Caries Prevalence and Risk Assessment","volume":"57","author":"Zandona","year":"2013","journal-title":"Dent. Clin. N. Am."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfca.2017.07.013","article-title":"Added sugars: Definition and estimation in the USDA Food Patterns Equivalents Databases","volume":"64","author":"Bowman","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Food Compos. Anal."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.4103\/2231-0762.151978","article-title":"Caries experience and its association with weight status among 8-year-old children in Qingdao, China","volume":"5","author":"Yang","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Int. Soc. Prev. Community Dent."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1387","DOI":"10.15537\/smj.2016.12.15904","article-title":"Prevalence of obesity in elementary school children and its association with dental caries","volume":"37","author":"Farsi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Saudi Med. J."},{"key":"ref_34","first-page":"115","article-title":"Caries prevalence in preschool children with overweight and obesity","volume":"62","year":"2010","journal-title":"Rev. Investig. Cl\u00ednica"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ravaghi, V., Rezaee, A., Pallan, M., and Morris, A.J. (2020). Childhood obesity and dental caries: An ecological investigation of the shape and moderators of the association. BMC Oral Health, 20.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12903-020-01329-7"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-263X.2011.01112.x","article-title":"Childhood obesity and dental caries among pediatric dental clinic attenders","volume":"21","author":"Chia","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. J. Paediatr. Dent."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"519","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhealeco.2007.05.005","article-title":"Beyond BMI: The value of more accurate measures of fatness and obesity in social science research","volume":"27","author":"Burkhauser","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Health Econ."}],"container-title":["Journal of Clinical Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/13\/3\/860\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T13:53:16Z","timestamp":1760104396000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2077-0383\/13\/3\/860"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]]},"references-count":37,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2]]}},"alternative-id":["jcm13030860"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jcm13030860","relation":{},"ISSN":["2077-0383"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2077-0383","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]]}}}