Dental erosion in 8 and 15-year-old school children and associated factors

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to establish the prevalence and severity of tooth erosion in 8-year and 15-year old children and to determine the predisposing factors leading to tooth erosion. Methods: Ten per cent of the current 8-year and 15-year olds of the Maltese population were randomly selected. The sample was representative of geographical regions, gender and type of school attended (state, church and independent schools). Four hundred thirty nine (439) subjects of 8-year-olds and 555 subjects of 15-year olds were examined in a standardized fashion. The subjects were asked to fill in a questionnaire to give an indication of their social, oral hygiene, dietary and medical history. The Basic Erosive Wear Examination Index (BEWE) was used to measure the erosion scores and the calculated cumulative score values were later divided into four risk categories in accordance with the risk level guide to clinical management. Results: The prevalence of erosion in 8-year olds was 69.7% whilst that in 15-year olds was 76.3%. The BEWE mean score for 8-year olds was 4.63 whereas the mean score for 15-year olds was 3.5. The difference in erosion between the two age groups was statistically significant with a higher incidence of tooth erosion reported for the 8-year olds (Unpaired t-test: p=0.0001). The severity of tooth erosion between the two age groups was also significantly different with 8-year olds having higher BEWE scores (Chi-square test: p=0.022). Various contributing factors such as gender, BMI and medical conditions were observed to have a correlation to the incidence of the subjects’ tooth erosion (Various tests: p<0.05). Conclusions: This study indicates that dental erosion is indeed a problem in the younger segment of the populations and underscores the need for appropriate preventive strategies.