Awareness and knowledge of dental erosion and its association with beverage consumption: a multidisciplinary survey

BMC Oral Health

Boyen Huang¹  Jeremiah Schmidt² 

[1] Department of Primary Dental Care, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, 515 Delaware St SE, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA;School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Tooth erosion;    Dental erosion;    Tooth wear;    Beverage consumption;    Awareness;    Health literacy;    University students;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12903-022-02065-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundErosive tooth wear has significant impacts on oral and general health. This study aimed to measure the awareness of dental erosion to establish the relationships among sociodemographic factors, awareness and knowledge of dental erosion, and beverage consumption behaviours, in a sample of university students in Australia.MethodsAll undergraduate students enrolled in the targeted programs at an Australian University were invited. A total of 418 students consented to participate. Each was assessed with an online questionnaire.ResultsThe awareness rate of dental erosion was 92.1%. Soft drinks and fruit juice were most often perceived as acidic beverages by the respondents. The students of greater age, and studying pharmacy, paramedicine, physiotherapy or science, were less likely to be aware of dental erosion. Those students that were aware of dental erosion also had better knowledge of dental erosion, which was associated with a reduced quantity of daily acidic beverage consumption as well. The students that predominantly resided overseas had less knowledge of dental erosion. The students that were of greater age, that were studying clinical science, pharmacy, medical science, paramedicine, or science, and that correctly identified more types of acidic beverages, more often consumed acidic beverages in high-risk patterns.ConclusionsErosive tooth wear is a relevant matter in dentistry, nutrition and public health. Within a university setting, the effect of education on oral health literacy and beverage consumption behaviour is confirmed. Dental and health professionals should actively educate the individuals and communities about dental erosion and motivate them to change acidic beverage consumption behaviours.

【 授权许可】

CC BY