No abstract

Objective. The reduced use of sugars-containing (SC) liquid medicines has increased the use of other dose forms, potentially resulting in more widespread dental effects, including tooth wear. The aim of this study was to assess the erosive potential of 97 paediatric medicines in vitro . Methods. The study took the form of in vitro measurement of endogenous pH and titratable acidity (mmol). Endogenous pH was measured using a pH meter, followed by titration to pH 7.0 with 0.1-M NaOH. Results. Overall, 55 (57%) formulations had an endogenous pH of < 5.5. The mean ( ± SD) endogenous pH and titratable acidity for 41 SC formulations were 5.26 ± 1.30 and 0.139 ± 0.133 mmol, respectively; for 56 sugars-free (SF) formulations, these figures were 5.73 ± 1.53 and 0.413 ± 1.50 mmol ( P > 0.05). Compared with their SC bioequivalents, eight SF medicines showed no significant differences for pH or titratable acidity, while 15 higher-strength medicines showed lower pH ( P = 0.035) and greater titratable acidity ( P = 0.016) than their lower-strength equivalents. Chewable and dispersible tablets ( P < 0.001), gastrointestinal medicines ( P = 0.002) and antibiotics ( P = 0.007) were significant predictors of higher pH. In contrast, effervescent tablets ( P < 0.001), and nutrition and blood preparations ( P = 0.021) were significant predictors of higher titratable acidity. Conclusions. Paediatric SF medicines were not more erosive than SC medicines in vitro ; a more significant predictor of their erosive potential was dose form.

It is concluded that dental erosion is more common in the primary and permanent dentitions of Saudi Arabian boys compared with results for similar age groups from the United Kingdom.

This study involved 354 boys aged 5-6 years and 862 boys aged 12-14 years, attending 40 schools in Riyadh. All children were examined at school by a single dental examiner, using criteria similar to those employed in the survey of children's dental health in the United Kingdom. The prevalence of dental trauma in 354 Saudi boys aged 5-6 years was 33%. The most common type of dental trauma was fracture of enamel (71%) followed by loss of tooth due to trauma (13%), fracture into enamel and dentine (7%), discolouration (5%), pulp involvement (4%). No relationship between the degree of overjet and the occurrence of dental trauma in the primary dentition was observed. The prevalence of dental trauma in 862 12-14-year-old boys was 34%. The commonest dental trauma was fracture of enamel (74%) followed by fracture into enamel and dentine (15%), fracture into enamel-dentine and pulp (5%), loss of tooth due to trauma (3%), and discolouration (0.4%). A significant relationship (P=0.02) between the increased overjet (> or = 6 mm) and the occurrence of dental trauma in the permanent dentition was reported. The present study found no evidence of dental care provided for traumatised primary incisors in 5-6-year-old boys. The treatment of dental trauma in 12-14-year-old boys was negligible (2.4%). The present Saudi Arabian study showed higher prevalence of dental trauma in 5-6- and 12-14-year-old boys than the reported results of the United Kingdom Children's Dental Health Survey of the same age groups.