A longitudinal study of tooth erosion in adolescents.

Incidence studies on tooth erosion among adolescents are scarce. This longitudinal study aimed at estimating the prevalence, incidence, progression, and distribution of erosion in young adolescents over a 1.5-year period. Erosion at baseline was present in 32.2% of the 622 children (mean age, 11.9 +/- 0.9 yrs) and increased to 42.8% over 1.5 yrs. The prevalence of deep enamel or dentin erosion increased from 1.8% to 13.3%. It was hypothesized that more boys will suffer from erosion than girls. At baseline, no difference was found (p = 0.139), whereas 1.5 yrs later, more boys showed erosion than girls (p = 0.026). Of the erosion-free children, 24.2% developed erosion. Progression of erosion in terms of lesion depth and/or in number of lesions was 61.0% and was found more frequently in boys than in girls (p = 0.034). The distribution of erosion showed a predominance of occlusal surfaces of molars, especially the mesiobuccal cusp top, and palatal surfaces of upper anterior teeth.