DENTAL EROSION, SOFT-DRINK INTAKE, AND ORAL HEALTH IN YOUNG SAUDI MEN, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING EROSIVE ANTERIOR TOOTHWEAR

The aim of the study was to investigate some aspects of the oral healt h of male Saudi military inductees with special reference to soft-drin k consumption, dental erosion, caries and fluorosis prevalences; a sec ond aim of the study was to develop a system for assessing dental eros ion. The material comprised a random selection of 95 individuals with a mean age of 20.9 years (range, 19-25 years). A questionnaire sun ey was made of each individual's dietary and oral hygiene habits and gene ral and oral health, in addition to clinical, study cast, radiographic , and photographic examinations. The results showed that soft-drink co nsumption in the sample ((x) over bar = 247 l/year) far exceeded that found in Western populations and that professional and self-administer ed denial care were generally scant. Twenty-eight per cent of the maxi llary anterior teeth showed pronounced dental erosion. Fluorosis was a common finding, and the number of untreated carious cavities was high . DMFT ((x) over bar = 10.0; DT = 7.7; MT = 0.5; FT = 1.8) and DMFS (( x) over bar = 18.3; DS = 12.6; MS = 2.5; FS = 3.2) were higher than th ose of comparable Western populations and showed an approximately thre efold increase over a period of about 18 years as compared with that p reviously reported in a similar Saudi sample. In view of the high freq uencies of dental erosion, untreated carious cavities, and fluorosis r eported here and the strong indication of an increasing caries prevale nce, the need for serious recognition of the implications in the plann ing of future dental health care programs is stressed.