INTRODUCTION: Dental caries and nutritional status in children in preschool age are serious public health problems, with multifactorial etiology, with diet as a common risk factor. OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study assessed the relationship between dental caries and nutritional status of preschool children attending public schools in a city in the State of Sao Paulo. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study population was comprised of 3-5 year-old preschool children (n = 229) attending public schools, in which dmft (decay, missing, filled, teeth) was used for dental caries assessment and Body Mass Index (BMI) was used for nutritional status in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Statistical analysis was performed in a descriptive way through absolute and relative frequencies and Spearman Correlation test and Kruskal Wallis (P<0.05). RESULT: A dmft of 1.65 (2.87) and a SiC index (Significant Caries Index) of 4.88 (3.20) have been found, indicating polarization of dental caries. It was observed that 66.81% of children presented with nutritional status within the normal range and children with malnutrition had a mean dmft of 4.0 (3.66), which is two times higher than the other categories of nutritional status. No statistically significant correlation has been found by correlating dmft and components with Body Mass Index. CONCLUSION: This research did not identify a significant correlation between the occurrence of dental caries and nutritional status of preschool children, researches should be conducted to elucidate this relationship.
Dental caries; nutritional status; oral health