Soft drinks and dental erosion during pediatric age: a clinical investigation.

BACKGROUND: Dental erosion is an irreversible condition of loss of teeth hard tissues caused by intrinsic or extrinsic acids attack, without bacterial involvement. Common soft drinks have an acid pH and they release hydrogen ions and act as chelating agents, dissolving teeth mineral component. The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation between the consumption of soft drinks in children and the degree of dental erosion. METHODS: A questionnaire of 15 multiple choice questions was addressed to the parents of the 231 children needing different dental treatments. Responses were compared with the level of dental erosion of their child, that was clinically investigated using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index. RESULTS: About 26.8% of subjects fall into a high-risk category of dental erosion while 24.2% in a low risk level. Socioeconomic status and oral hygiene habits are able to affect the degree of dental erosion. Toothpastes containing fluoride have not proved effective in preventing this phenomenon and no significant correlations were found between the type of toothbrush used and its frequency of use. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to apply preventive measures such as information on the processes and causes of erosion, instruction about right home oral hygiene maneuvers and the possible use of specific products, to avoid the development of problems related to severe dental wear.

Zirconia vs. stainless steel pediatric crowns: a literature review.

The aim of this review was to assess efficacy and acceptance of aesthetic zirconia crowns (ZCs) compared to the traditionally employed stainless steel crowns (SSCs) for primary teeth restoration. A comprehensive literature search was completed for the relevant keywords in Scopus and Medline databases. Resulting article abstracts and full texts were screened to determine final inclusion. Eighteen articles were included from the initial search. There is still little evidence to support the use of one type of crowns over another for primary teeth, in particularly for ZCs, lately introduced in pediatric restoration. The gold standard for restoring decayed primary teeth is still represented by SSCs, despite the growing importance of the aesthetic issue related to their use. Aesthetic ZCs resulted in having adequate properties to be employed for the treatment of decayed primary teeth, such as mechanical resistance, limited plaque adhesion, wear behavior and natural appearance. There is still a paucity of literature clinically evaluating the efficacy of ZCs for primary teeth restoration, but they can be considered a promising alternative to SSCs. This field of research has to be more deeply explored to improve dental care in children affected by early childhood caries.