Parental knowledge of dental erosion and erosion-related risk factors in children

Abstract

Introduction: Dental erosion in children has been steadily on the increase in recent years. This is mainly due to the contemporary eating habits of the new generations and their upbringing from an early age to prefer foods and beverages with high acid content. Aim: To study the knowledge of parents about dental erosion and the most common risk factors associated with it. Materials and methods: Data were gathered through a direct individual questionnaire administered to the parents of children aged 3 to 5 years. The results were analyzed by descriptive statistics and the Pearson chi-squared test for independence using SPSS 19. Results: A large proportion of respondents (68.5%) stated that they knew what dental erosion was. Most of them (77.4%) were aware of the detrimental effect of carbonated beverages. In contrast, only 23.8% were aware of the potentially harmful effect of excessive consumption of citrus fruits, and only 31.9% of parents considered the impact of excessive intake of fruit juices. 16.1% of the participants were informed about the erosive potential of some medicines such as vitamin C. Nearly half of the parents (46.6%) found vigorous tooth brushing damaging. Conclusions: Despite the high self-esteem, a low percentage of the respondents were actually aware of the most common risk factors for dental erosion in children.