Dental erosion in preschool children in Wuhan city China

Dental erosion has been reported as an oral problem affecting children and adolescents. Objectives: to determine the prevalence of dental erosion in a sample of 3-5 years old school children in Wuhan city, PR China; and to relate the correlation factors of erosion. Method: Sample size was determined by calculation; sampling was carried out to include 500 children from 4 randomly selected kindergartens. Approval for the study was obtained from the Ethic Committee of the university and the kindergartens. The examination for erosion was confined to the maxillary primary incisors. Caries was examined and diagnosed by the criteria recommended by the WHO oral health survey (1997). A short questionnaire were sent to the parents of the children, which included children~{!/~} drinking habits, oral health habits and frequency of brushing. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between the erosion and erosion related questionnaires variables. Results: 463 children participated the study, the response rate was 93%. The prevalence of dental caries was 47.3%, and the mean dmft and dmfs was 1.7 and 3.0 respectively. The prevalence of dental erosion in the sample was 9.3%, and there were no statistical difference between age and sex. The drinking frequency has a positively relationship with dental erosion, when all the variables were included in the Logistic regression models, the results showed that ~{!0~}frequency if foods taken at night~{!1~} and ~{!0~} when start brushing teeth ~{!1~} were the two major risk factors related to dental erosion. Conclusion: The prevalence of dental erosion in 3-5 years old children in Wuhan city, China was lower compared to European countries. Drinking during night was a high risk factor leading to dental erosion. Supported by Crest Research Institute.