Background: Dietary habits are essential in the development of occlusal plaque and, consequently, caries. Several indices are used to measure occlusal plaque. VOPI (Visible Occlusal Plaque) is an important tool for diagnosing and monitoring occlusal plaque. This study aims to find a relationship between dietary habits, occlusal plaque, and dental caries among adolescents in a hospital setting.
Materials and Methods: This hospital-based analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at Dow Dental College, Dow University of Health Sciences. A total of 440 participants were included in this study. A questionnaire regarding their socio-demographic profile, oral hygiene, and dietary habits was administered, and the intra-oral examination comprised of recording plaque and caries scores through the VOPI and caries index. Chi-square tests were performed to compare caries incidence and VOPI between sweet and soft drink consumption groups. The Pearson correlation was used to measure the strength of the relationship between the VOPI and caries severity.
Results: The study provided valuable insights regarding the dietary habits of adolescents. The binary logistic regression resulted in a strong association between sweet consumption and gender. Sweet consumption in candies showed a significant relationship with plaque and caries, however, soft drinks showed an insignificant relationship.
Conclusion: The consumption of sweets at a young age can be associated with the development of dental caries and occlusal plaque. VOPI can be used as an essential diagnostic tool to measure occlusal biofilm. The oral hygiene habits at such an age must be monitored, and periodic dental visits should be considered.
Keywords: Adolescents, Dental caries, Dietary habits, occlusal plaque, Oral hygiene, Visible occlusal plaque index.
