ABSTRACT
Abstract Objective: To investigate the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and dental age in 8-15-year-old orthodontic patients. Material and Methods: Forty-eight children (25 males, 23 females) aged 8-15 years requiring orthodontic treatment participated in this retrospective study. The dental development ages were determined using the Demirjian method and panoramic radiographs. Afterwards, chronological age, height, and weight were recorded. Using the standard equation developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, BMI value was calculated and grouped according to BMI percentile classification according to age and gender. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation test. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Dental age was significantly accelerated in subjects with increased BMI percentile after adjusting for age and gender (p<0.05). The mean dental age among all subjects was 10.58 ± 2.40. The correlation coefficient (r) showed a strong correlation with a positive direction, which means that the dental age also accelerated by 44.6% in the subjects with increased BMI. Conclusion: There was a linear correlation between increased BMI with accelerated dental age. BMI value and dental age can be considered in determining orthodontic treatment time.