Determining the association between consumption of dairy products, nuts, fruits and vegetables and tooth decay based on DMFT index in Azar cohort population

Abstract

Objective: Oral hygiene is a part of general health that affects many people's daily activities. Despite the great emphasis of the World Health Organization on oral and dental hygiene, this issue is still one of the public health problems, especially in developing countries. Balanced and appropriate diets can help prevent oral cavity diseases such as tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontal disease and oral cancer. The Dietary Guidelines recommend adopting a diet low in fat and free sugars, but rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber, as a protective measure against the development of oral disease. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the consumption of dairy products, nuts, fruits and vegetables with tooth decay based on the DMFT index.

Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, the data related to the daily, weekly, monthly and annual consumption of dairy products, nuts, fruits and vegetables were extracted from the nutrition questionnaire of the Azar cohort for 15,006 participants, which includes the population between 35 and 70 years old. The caries rate based on the DMFT index was also extracted from the Azar cohort data. Analyzes were done with SPSS version 22. A significant level of p<0.05 with a confidence interval of 95% was considered. Mean and standard deviation for DMFT were used for descriptive analysis. Independent sample t-test was used to check the relationship of DMFT with "qualitative two-group" variables, and One-Way ANOVA analysis was used to check its relationship with "qualitative more than two-group" variables.

Results: The results showed that the average caries based on the DMFT index in the group that consumed the least vegetables (16.03 ± 6.78) was significantly higher than the others (P<0.007). The average caries based on the DMFT index in the group that had the lowest consumption of nuts (16.03 ± 7.21) was significantly higher than the others (P<0.02).

Conclusion: Based on this research, there was no correlation between the amount of dairy and fruit consumption and the tooth decay index. Among the examined variables, the consumption of nuts and fresh vegetables were significant predictors of the DMFT index. Therefore, education and increasing the level of community awareness can play an effective role in improving the oral and dental health of people in the community.