Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between diet and DMFT / dmft indexes among 2-12 years old children referred to dental clinics in Ahvaz in 2015. Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted on 259 children (131 gilrs-128 boys) who were selected randomly among the 2-12 aged children (mean age 6.59 years old) referred to 3 private and one state dental clinic in Ahvaz, Iran. To investigate the variables, a questionnaire was prepared and mothers and children were asked to enter dietary information of child in a day of a week. After completing the questionnaire, all of the children were examined by a dentist to investigate and record DMFT/dmft. Results: Based on the Spearman analysis there was significant but reverse relationship between the level of DMFT with that of dmft (P= -0.004) and the time frequency of consuming dairy (P= -0.022). Also, there was a direct and significant relationship between the level of DMFT and time frequency of consuming foods containing sugar (P= - 0.046) and sweet drinks (P= 0.04). There was a significant but reverse relationship between the level of dmft with level of DMFT (P= -0.004) and the time frequency of consuming diary (P= -0.043) and protein foods (P= -0.007). There was a direct and significant relationship between the level of dmft and using food containing sugar (P= 0.049), sweet drinks (P= 0.046) and other foods like different kinds of non- sweet junkies (chips) (P= 0.01). There was not a significant relationship between DMFT and dmft and the amount of water consuming, the fast foods in restaurants, tea and different kinds of cereals. Analysis of demographic information was shown that there was a positive and significant relationship between the level of DMFT and age (P= 0.00) while there was a negative and significant relationship between the level of dmft and age (P= -0.00) Conclusion: The changes in diet specially increasing the frequency of consuming food and beverages containing sugar and snacks and junkies can increase dental caries. By using diary and protein food, the dental caries will decrease by recognizing the cariogenic foods and limiting the frequency of daily consumption of food, we can control the caries formation and take effective step toward improving the oral health. © 2016, International Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. All rights reserved.