Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines overweight and obese as body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 25 and 30, respectively. More than one-third of the adult population 20 years and older are obese. Recently, increased interest in the link between obesity and oral health, has suggested that obesity is also associated with periodontitis.

Aims: The aim and objectives of this study was to determine if subjects with obesity have a higher chance of developing periodontal disease, using statistical analyses of the data collected in body mass index assessment and periodontal charting of patients attending AIMST Dental Institute, Malaysia.

Methods and Material: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Faculty of Dentistry, Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) Dental Centre, Malaysia The study sample comprised of 50 subjects aged 18-54 years, drawn using the stratified cluster sampling procedure. BMI was calculated as the ratio of the subject’s body weight (in kg) to the square of their height (in meters). Periodontal status was recorded using the full mouth periodontal charting. Statistical analysis was appropriately used to assess the relation between body mass index and periodontitis.

 Results: Among the 50 samples, 8% are of underweight category, 34% are of normal weight category and 58% are of overweight category. These results show a significant percentage of periodontal patients fall under the overweight category. There were no significant differences between the obese class I, class II and class III and periodontal status. Subjects had an greater risk of developing periodontitis with each 1- kg/m2 increase in the body mass index, which shows that an increased body mass index could be a possible risk factor for developing periodontitis among the adults aged 18 to 54 years.

Conclusions:

Our results reaffirm that increased BMI is positively correlated with periodontal disease prevalence. We hope this study will increase awareness among medical professionals so that there is increased patient education about the oral health risks of overweight and obesity, and that there is earlier recognition and treatment of periodontal disease in patients who are overweight and obese.

Keywords: Body mass index, Oral hygeine, obesity, periodontal diseases.