Dental erosion in Icelandic teenagers in relation to dietary and lifestyle factors

High consumption of fruit juices and carbonated drinks has been related to dental erosion. Teenage male Icelanders consume about 800 ml of carbonated drinks per day on average and this corresponds with the main age group and gender of patients seen with erosion. This study examined the prevalence of dental erosion in 15-year-old children in Reykjavik and looked at the association between erosion and some lifestyle factors in a case-control study drawn from the same sample. A 20% sample of the 15-year-cohort population (n = 278) was selected. Dental erosion was classified by location and severity (I = enamel erosion; 2 = dentine erosion; 3 = severe dentine erosion) and was seen in 21.6% of subjects (68.3% male; 72% scored as grade 1; 23% grade 2; 5% grade 3). Control subjects were the first healthy subjects examined after a case subject had been diagnosed. In the case-control study, information was gathered by multiple-choice questionnaire on symptoms of gastric reflux, tooth sensitivity, some lifestyle and dietary factors. Several lifestyle and dietary factors, previously shown to be significantly related to dental caries in Icelandic teenagers, showed no significant relationship to tooth erosion. Although dietary factors arc probably important in causing erosion, dietary recall questionnaires did not help in discovering. individuals likely to develop erosion.