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Dental erosion in a group of British 14-year-old, school children. Part I: Prevalence and influence of differing socioeconomic backgrounds.

2001; Springer Nature; Volume: 190; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/sj.bdj.4800908

1476-5373

Y H Al-Dlaigan, Linda Shaw, Alan M. Smith,

Dental Health and Care Utilization

To establish the prevalence of erosion in a cluster random sample of 14- year-olds in Birmingham UK. To determine whether socioeconomic group influences the prevalence of erosion.The study group consisted of a cluster random sample of 14-year-old school children in Birmingham UK: 418 children were examined from 12 different schools; 209 were male and 209 female. The level of tooth wear was recorded using a modification of the (TWI) index of Smith and Knight (1984). The ACORN classification was used to assess the socioeconomic status of all children.Results showed that 48% of the children had low erosion, 51% had moderate erosion and only 1% had severe erosion. There were statistically significant differences between males and females; more males had buccal/labial and lingual/palatal tooth surface erosion than females (Chi-square analysis P < 0.001). There was also significantly more erosion observed in teenagers in the lowest socioeconomic categories.It was concluded that moderate levels of dental erosion are common in 14-year-old school children and this may lead to increasing clinical problems. There was significantly more erosion in children from low socioeconomic groups. Possible aetiological factors need to be investigated further.