Development of low erosive carbonated fruit drinks 2. Evaluation of an experimental carbonated blackcurrant drink compared to a conventional carbonated drink

Objective. Previous studies demonstrated that a non-carbonated blackcurrant juice drink with added calcium produced little erosion of enamel in vitro and in situ by comparison with other low pH fruit drinks. The aim of this study is to evaluate the erosive effects in situ of an experimental formulation carbonated drink with added calcium, compared to a conventional carbonated drink over a 20 day period using a similar design as in previous studies. Method. The study was a single centre, single blind, randomised placebo controlled three cell crossover design involving 15 volunteers. The test drinks were an experimental carbonated ready-to-drink (RTD) blackcurrant drink, a conventional carbonated RTD orange drink and water. Two enamel samples were retained in situ, in the midline of the hard palate on an upper removable acrylic appliance. Drinks were 250 ml volumes consumed four times per day during 20 working days. Measurements of enamel loss were made on enamel samples after days 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 by profilometry. Results. The experimental carbonated blackcurrant drink caused significantly less enamel loss than the conventional carbonated orange drink at all time points measured, but was not significantly different from water at days 2, 5 and 20. Conclusions. This study has shown that it is possible to modify carbonated soft drinks in a manner similarly shown with non-carbonated soft drinks, to minimise dental erosion.