Dental erosive wear among adults in the southeast of China

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of dental erosive wear and its associated indicators among adults in the southeast of China.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults randomly selected from office buildings in Shanghai, China. Clinical examinations were taken to assess dental erosive wear using the basic erosive wear examination (BEWE) scoring system. Information on socio-economic background, dietary habits, oral hygiene behaviors and medical factors were also collected through questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression was performed to explore the associated indicators of prevalence of dental erosive wear.
Results: A total of 718 participants were clinical examined. The prevalence of dental erosive wear (highest BEWE score of 1 or higher) was 41.4%. Over one third of participants (32.2%) had a score of 1 as their highest BEWE score, and 7.7% and 1.3% had a highest score of 2 and 3. The mean total BEWE score of the six sextants of participants was 1.88±2.93 with a range from 0 to 17. The results of multiple logistic regression showed that adults who took fresh fruits and vinegar more frequently and who had heartburn had higher risk of having dental erosive wear.

Conclusions: The prevalence of dental erosive wear of adults in the southeast of China is high. Their dental erosive wear was related to their take of fresh fruits and vinegar, as well as heartburn.