A correlation study of diet, oral hygiene and dental caries in 457 Canadian children

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Abstract
The interrelationship of diet, oral hygiene and caries was evaluated. Of the sample size of 457 children, 234 were in grade 1 and 223 grade 7. Five day diet surveys were obtained, followed by clinical examinations for oral hygiene and caries. One examiner, using mouth mirror, explorer and extraoral light, conducted the caries examination. From the diet surveys, refined and total carbohydrate consumption was calculated per day; between meals, at meals, and totaled for that day. Five day totals, which included 1 weekend, were recorded along with frequency of eating per day and for the 5 day periods. Computer analysis revealed no significant correlation between the diet variables and caries or oral hygiene indices and caries. The children with high caries indices did not have the poorest oral hygiene nor consumed the most carbohydrates. Similarly, the children with low caries indices did not have the cleanest teeth nor consumed lesser amounts of carbohydrates.