The prevalence of dental erosion in the maxillary incisors of 14-year-old school-children living in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, London, UK

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental erosion in the maxillary incisors of a sample of 14-year-old schoolchildren and to ex plore the aetiological factors responsible for that erosion. The cross-sect ionally design study took place in secondary schools in inner-city London, UK and involved 525, 14-year-old schoolchildren selected at random in a cli nical examination and a self-completed questionnaire. The outcomes measures for dental erosion were; the prevalence, the area and depth of lesions and the risk factors. The prevalence of labial and palatal erosion was 16.9 pe r cent and 12 per cent respectively. Risk factors and behaviours including daily frequency of ingestion of acidic fruits and drinks, food vomiting, to othbrushing frequency, and swimming habits were not shown to have any relat ionship with the presence of erosion. It was concluded that the prevalence of erosion in the maxillary incisors of this sample was higher labially and lower palatally than in previously reported national figures. The risk fac tors which were investigated were not shown to have any relationship with t he presence of erosion. Further investigations of these issues are necessar y to establish whether or not dental erosion is a public health problem in the UK.