Introduction: The aim of this study was to analyze the coexistence of myopia and dental caries.
Material and methods: 900 children from Elementary School No 3 in Szczecin, Poland were examined (443 boys and 457 girls, aged 7-13 years, mean age 10, SD = 2). The pupils were Caucasian and resided in or near Szczecin. The examination included retinoscopy under cycloplegia. Refractive error readings were expressed as the spherical equivalent (SE). Myopia was defined as SE of at least -0.5 D. Unified WHO criteria were used to evaluate the state of health of the oral cavity. The advancement of caries was assessed basing on the mean value of dmf and its components for deciduous teeth, as well as on the mean value of DMF and its components for permanent teeth. The data was analyzed using Pearson's chi2 test and Mann-Whitney U test. P values of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results: A high prevalence of dental carries with myopia (91.6%) and without myopia (93.8%) was found. Differences between these two groups were not statistically significant (p > 0.05, table 1). Furthermore, lower values of d (p < 0.01) and dmf (p < 0.001) in deciduous teeth and higher values of F (p < 0.05) in permanent teeth were observed in association with myopia (table 2).
Conclusion: No positive correlation between myopia and dental caries was ascertained.