Erosion of deciduous and permanent dental hard tissue in the oral environment

Objectives: The objectives of this study were two-fold: (1) to determine (by surfometry) loss of deciduous and permanent enamel and dentine following consumption of a single low pH orange drink for 15 days; and (2) to determine (by surfometry) loss of deciduous and permanent enamel and dentine following consumption of the product 2 versus 4 times per day for 15 days. Methods: Sixteen healthy volunteers participated in a single centre, single blind, 2-phase crossover study, conducted according to Good Clinical Practice, and employing the validated model described by West and co-workers (Journal of Dentistry 1998; 26:329–335). Results: In all tissues, erosion was progressive over time, the pattern being more linear in enamel than in dentine. In general, erosion of deciduous enamel was greater than that of permanent enamel, though this difference was significant only for those specimens exposed to 4 drinks per day. Conversely, erosion of dentine was generally greater in the permanent tissue, though differences rarely reached conventional levels of statistical significance. Increasing frequency of consumption resulted in increased loss of tissue, but this difference was neither proportional nor consistently statistically significant. Conclusions: It is concluded that statistically significant differences in susceptibility of deciduous and permanent enamel to erosion appear to emerge over time and with increasing frequency of consumption. This is of importance clinically given the reduced dimensions of the deciduous dentition and the element of ‘abuse’ of soft drinks by the child population. Further development of soft drinks with low erosive potential is recommended.