The Dental Anomalies in Relation to Nutritional Status among Pediatric Patients Attending College of Dentistry/ University of Baghdad

Background Dental anomalies might occur due to abnormal events during teeth development caused by environmental or genetic factors during histo differentiation or morph differentiation stages of embryological development. Aims of the study To evaluate the distribution of developmental dental anomalies according to age and gender in relation to nutritional status in children attending College of Dentistry /University of Baghdad. Materials and method After examination 5760 children aged 5-12 years of both genders only 147child with dental anomalies were found, all developmental dental anomalies that were clinically observable were recorded. The developmental dental anomalies which diagnosed in this study were supernumerary, missing teeth, talon cusp, microdontia, gemination, fusion, peg shape lateral, enamel hypoplasia, dentinogenesis imperfacta and amelodensis imperfacta. Nutritional status for each child assessed by measuring weight and height to calculate body mass index. Results The results of the current study showed that the supernumerary teeth was the first most common anomaly seen in this study followed by localized hypoplasia which the second most common anomaly seen followed by missing teeth and microdontia respectively. Regarding total sample from 5 to 12 years old children, the findings showed that the children percent with number anomalies (42.9 %) was highest than children percent with structural anomalies and shape anomalies (32.7 %, and 24.5 % respectively) with statistically highly significant difference (P0.05). The results showed that the underweight children showed higher percent (53.1 %) among all age groups than children who were normal weight, over weight and obese (32.7 %, 12.2 %, and 2.0 % respectively) with highly significant difference (Pless than 0.01). The results illustrated that both boys and girls showed highest percent of underweight (44.8 %, and 65.0 % respectively) followed by normal weight, over weight and obese with statistically non significant difference. The results also reported that the underweight children presented with highest shape and structural anomalies percent (75.0 %, and 50.0 % respectively) except number anomalies showed highest percent (47.6 %) among normal weight children. Regarding total sample, the underweight children presented with highest dental anomalies percent of all anomalies types (53.1 %) than normal weight, over weight and obese children with highly significant difference ( Pless than 0.01). Conclusion The present study showed the association of nutritional status with dental anomalies among Iraqi children.