الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 94 |  |  |
| | | from | 94 | | |
Abstract
Body Mass Index for age and primary dental arch dimensions have common determinants. Some studies on humans and on experimental animals had identified a positive association between these two conditions, and have suggested that underweight children are at risk of reduced dental arch dimensions. This study aimed to determine the relationship between childhood body mass index and primary dental arch dimensions of width and length in a sample of Egyptian preschool children in the City of Alexandria.
The sample consisted of 108 healthy children (53 males and 55 females) selected from out patient clinic of Pediatric Dentistry Department of Faculty of Dentistry Alexandria University.
Weight digital device and height device were used to determine the BMI for each child. BMI was calculated by BMI equation which is weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. The BMI number was plotted on the CDC ”BMI-for-age” growth charts (for either girls or boys) to obtain BMI percentile ranking for each child. Children were then classified into four categories; underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese.
Maxillary and mandibular dental casts for each child were obtained from rubber base impressions. Intercanine width, intermolar width and arch length were measured on each cast using a digital caliper.
Data were collected and statistically analyzed, and results showed that, 21.3% of sample was underweight. For all children there was a positive relation between weight category and all dental arch dimensions in both maxilla and mandible. Males showed significant higher dimensions in all dental arch measurements than females in both maxilla and mandible except in the intercanine width which was not significantly different. Children aged (4-5) years showed significant higher dental arch measurements than children aged (3-4) years in both maxilla and mandible except in the arch length which was not significantly different.