Abstract
Objective: To assess the prevalence of tooth wear in adolescents and its relationship with diet, saliva and gastro-oesophageal reflux.
Design: Single centre cluster sample epidemiological study.
Setting: A school in London in the summer of 1996.
Subjects: 11-14-year-old schoolchildren.
Main outcome measures: The Smith and Knight tooth wear index (TWI), salivary factors, diet and symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux were recorded for all subjects.
Results: Results were obtained from 210 subjects. One subject refused to provide a saliva sample and 11 subjects provided insufficient saliva for analysis of buffering power (n = 198). 57% (95% confidence intervals 50.3–63.7%) of subjects had tooth wear on more than ten teeth and a median 12% (interquartile range 6–18%, 95% confidence intervals 8–14%) of surfaces were affected. However, dentine involvement was rare. The median intake of carbonated drinks was 2 cans (interquartile range 1–3) a day. However, there was no correlation with TWI (r = −0.09, P = 0.19). There was no relationship between tooth wear index (TWI) and salivary flow rate (r = −0.02, P = 0.78) or buffering capacity (r = −0.02, P = 0.76). A trend was observed for those with a reported history of regurgitation (n = 27) to have a higher maxillary TWI (median 8, interquartile range 2–13) compared with those who did not (5, 2–9, P = 0.06).
Conclusions: Tooth wear is common in adolescents and the relationship with dietary acid, salivary buffering and symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux is complex and requires further investigation
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Bartlett, D., Coward, P., Nikkah, C. et al. The prevalence of tooth wear in a cluster sample of adolescent schoolchildren and its relationship with potential explanatory factors. Br Dent J 184, 125–129 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4809560
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4809560
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