Influence of masticatory function, dental caries and socioeconomic status on the body mass index of preschool children

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the influence of masticatory function, dental caries and socioeconomic status on the body mass index (BMI) of preschool children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 285 children aged three to five years allocated to three groups based on the BMI: underweight, ideal weight and overweight/obesity. Socioeconomic status was determined based on the responses of parents/caregivers to a specific form. Cavitated lesions were diagnosed using the criteria of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System. Masticatory function was assessed based on masticatory performance (MP) and the swallowing threshold (ST), which were evaluated based on the results of a test food. Data analysis involved the employment of the Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests as well as simple and multiple linear regression analyses. Results: In the final multiple regression model, BMI was influenced by monthly household income (13 = 0.234; 95%CI: 1.014 to 1.647), number of cavitated teeth (beta = -0.180; 95%CI: -0.293 to -0.054) and X50 of the ST (13 = 0.304; 95%CI: 0.213-0.498). Conclusion: Children whose food test resulted in large particles and those from families with a higher monthly income had a higher BMI. Children with a greater number of teeth with cavitated dental caries had a lower BMI.