Risk factors in dental erosion.

Dental erosion and factors affecting the risk of its occurrence were investigated with a case-control approach. One hundred and six cases with erosion and 100 randomly selected controls from the same source population were involved in the study. All cases and controls were evaluated by the recording of structured medical and dietary histories and by examination of the teeth and saliva. Erosion was classified according to pre-determined criteria. The relative importance of associations between factors and erosion was analyzed by a logistic multivariable model. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) were estimated. There was considerable risk of erosion when citrus fruits were eaten more than twice a day (AOR 37), soft drinks were drunk daily (AOR 4), apple vinegar was ingested weekly (AOR 10), or sport drinks were drunk weekly (AOR 4). The risk of erosion was also high in individuals who vomited (AOR 31) or exhibited gastric symptoms (AOR 10), and in those with a low unstimulated salivary flow rate (AOR 5).