Associations Between Dental Erosion and Background Variables in Italian Adolescents

The erosive tooth wear is becoming a common dental health problem, especially in children and adolescents. A simple scoring index to use in general practice was recently proposed. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to validate the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index and to evaluate the possible association between dental erosion and dietary habits in a sample of Italian adolescents. Methods: In 2009, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Sassari, Italy. A sample of 1560 adolescents (M=725, F=835, age range 13-18 yy, mean age 15.4±0.8) was visited. The BEWE index was recorded by two calibrated examiners. Using the Lussi criteria (from 0 to 3), the tooth mostly affected by erosion in each sextant gave the score for the entire sextant. The total score sum gave the BEWE index. Information about potential dietary risk factors for dental erosion and other background variables were collected through a self-compiled questionnaire. Intake frequency and patterns of consumption of acidic foods and drinks, eating disorders and gastro-esophageal reflux disease were investigated. Associations between clinical data and questionnaire items were estimated through processes of bivariate and multivariate analyses. The statistical significance level was set at 5%. Results: 25.7% of the subjects showed a medium-high value of the BEWE index with a statistically higher prevalence in females (OR=1.42 _95%CI=0 1.10-1.69). Multivariate analysis showed that consumption of sugared carbonated drinks between the main meals was statistically significant associated with medium-high BEWE values (OR=2.06 _95%CI=0 1.25-3.04). No associations for any of the other background variables were observed. Conclusion: The BEWE index allows graduated measurements of the dental erosion for individuals and groups with respect to gender and drink consumption.