Oral pH and drinking habit during ingestion of a carbonated drink in a group of adolescents with dental erosion

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between dental erosion, oral pH and drinking habit in a group of adolescents. Methods: Oral pH was measured simultaneously at the surface of four teeth in 11 patients, aged 10–16 years, with erosion and in 10 controls subjects without erosion using antimony electrodes. Measurements were made before, during and after drinking 330 ml of a carbonated drink. The method and timing of drinking the beverage, reported dietary intake of acidic foods and flow rate and buffering capacity of saliva were recorded. Results: The erosion patients reported drinking more carbonated drinks (p<0.01) and drinking directly from a can more frequently than the controls (p<0.05). They also drank twice as quickly (p<0.05). The pH at the buccal surface of a molar remained lower for longer in the erosion patients than in the patients without erosion (p<0.01), whilst the labial surface of the upper central incisor had a longer exposure to low pH in the controls subjects (p<0.05). Conclusion: The pattern of oral pH differed between subjects with and without erosion after drinking an acidic beverage. This may be related to observed differences in drinking habit, which could have influenced the pattern of erosion in these subjects.