Abstract:

AIM: This study aims to assess the imprints of food patterns on oral health status and body mass index among third shift personnel in Chennai city, Tamilnadu, India. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A descriptive study was conducted among 109 people aged 30-60 years working on a shift basis in various Information Technology (IT) companies of Chennai city based on the multistage cluster sampling method. Questionnaire regarding food pattern, oral hygiene and physical variables were collected. Then their BMI and oral health examination was assessed using WHO Proforma (2013). The data were tabulated and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. P-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.  RESULTS: Most of the night shift workers were found to be overweight this might be due to their sedentary lifestyle and increased consumption of sugary food items which causes increased prevalence of dental caries (73.39%) and other dental problems like Periodontitis (60.55%), Erosion (71.56%) and Fluorosis (63.30%). The oral health parameters such as dental caries (P= 0.007), missing teeth (P= 0.02), periodontal pocket (P=0.004) were found to be statistically significant with Body mass index (BMI). CONCLUSION: The shift workers with higher BMI and irregular eating habits are prone to dental caries, sensitivity, and periodontitis. So, they need to be more attentive towards dietary habits and physical exercise to maintain their overall health.

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