Relationship between Dental Erosion and Beverage Consumption Pattern in Overweight and Obese Patients

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the relationship between dental erosion and frequency of non-alcoholic beverage intake in normal-weight, overweight, and obese individuals.

The study involved 264 subjects aged 18–60 years with normal weight (control group), overweight and obesity. The frequency of non-alcoholic beverage intake has been assessed. The grade of erosive tooth wear has been measured using the BEWE index (Basic Erosive Wear Examination). When comparing the control and overweight groups, a statistically significant difference has been found between the group with no erosive wear, score 0, and the one with initial enamel surface loss, score 1, (χ² = 18.633, p < 0.05). When comparing the control and obese groups, a significant difference has been found between the groups with score 0 (χ² = 19.179, p < 0.05), score 2 (χ² = 0.160, p < 0.05) and score 3 (χ² = 0.160, p < 0.05), as well as when comparing the subjects in the control group with score 0 by sex (χ² = 3.360, p < 0.05). The Kruskal–Wallis test has indicated a statistically significant difference among the three studied groups depending on body weight (BMI), (χ² = 19.036, p < 0.001), as well as on the non-alcoholic beverage consumption in the individuals affected by erosive wear (χ² = 57.403, p < 0.001). A relationship between the frequency of intake related to these beverages and the dental erosive wear has been established.