A correlative analysis of dental age, chronological age, and body mass index and its impact on dental development in 6-13 year old children of Navi Mumbai, India.

Purpose: Nutrition has a great impact on children's health. Of great concern are the underweight children because of the risk of illness and mortality in them. Being overweight can also have long-lasting adverse effect on development of the child. The purpose of this study was to determine body mass index (BMI) and dental development in normal and underweight children and to carry out a correlative analysis of calculated dental age, chronological age, and BMI in normal and underweight children of age group of 6-13 years of Navi Mumbai, India.

Materials and Methods: The sample for the study consisted of 301 participants, that is, 171 boys and 130 girls who were divided into two groups, namely, normal and underweight.

Results: When BMI was less than normal, calculated dental age was less and thus the dental development was retarded and vice versa.

Conclusion: The following conclusions were drawn from the study: (1) a significant positive correlation was found between chronological age and dental age and (2) along with the chronological age and dental age, the calculated dental age difference must also be taken into consideration.