How do the diet, oral hygiene habits and body mass index affect tooth caries in the students of the faculty of dentistry?

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of oral hygiene and dietary habits on body mass index (BMI) and decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index of dentistry faculty students.
METHODS: A total of 166 students studying at XXXXXXX University Faculty of Dentistry were included in the study. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire containing 16 questions related to diet and oral hygiene habits. The number of teeth in the mouth and DMFT indexes were recorded according to WHO criteria. During the general health examination, the length and weight of the participants were measured and recorded. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as kilograms per meter squared.
RESULTS: Calculated BMI of the male and the female participants was found as 23.23 and 21.48 respectively. Statistically, no significant relationship was found between the diet and oral hygiene habits in the survey and BMI and DMFT(p>0.05). When ZINB regression results were examined, it was observed that there is a significant difference statistically between the classes in terms of DMFT (p<0.0001), however there is no difference in terms of BMI and gender (p>0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Considering the future roles of the students in the faculty of dentistry, it is very important to find out their information level about both oral hygiene habits and diet habits and if necessary to plan future trainings about this and aim to increase the information levels.