Studies assessing the erosive potential of soft drinks have employed long time intervals of immersion that may not accurately depict the impact of frequent soft drink consumption on enamel. This in vitro study assessed the effect of a cola drink on enamel, replicating an actual drinking pattern. Six groups of 4 human enamel slabs were immersed (5 min each bath) in fresh cola drink, with immersions taking place with or without agitation, and under 3 regimes of frequency intake (low intake, 1 immersion/day; medium, 5/day; high, 10/day). Quantitative assessments of surface erosion were done over an 8-day interval using surface microhardness testing (Vickers). Results showed a sharp decrease from baseline (mean value 352.1 Vickers Hardness Number, SD 32.5) to day 1 (269.3, SD 41.0) and then continued decreasing throughout the assay, although less markedly, to reach 204.5, SD 45.4 on day 8. Microhardness decreased regardless of frequency regime, except on day 8, on which slabs from the low intake group were harder (233.2, SD 25.0) than slabs from the high intake group (169.8, SD 49.5; p < 0.05). Results from the ANOVA on the factorial experiment indicated that the role of agitation was statistically significant (d.f. = 1, F = 7.2, p = 0.020) while the level of intake was of borderline significance (d.f. = 2, F = 3.2, p = 0.075). The main effect resulting from the joint roles of agitation and intake indicated that there was an important interaction between the two variables (d.f. = 3, F = 4.5, p = 0.023).

Dental human health resource planning (DHHRP), or manpower planning in Mexico has been plagued by fundamental contradictions. In spite of having trained a great many dentists in the past two decades, the dental health status of the population has not significantly improved. Concurrently, the relative scarcity of patients in relation to the number of practising dentists seems to be more marked, a critical issue since most dental care is delivered under private schemes. In the present investigation, 196 practising dentists in Mexico City were interviewed to establish their knowledge and opinions about DHHRP, and their views about the introduction of innovative alternatives in transforming, evaluating and planning human health resources. Concerns were: a need to examine and re-define the aims, skill content and marketability of professional training in professional practice; a lack of consensus as to how this is to be achieved; and a degree of awareness that professional practice has a limited scope in meeting the challenge of providing adequate care because of maldistribution of dentists and of limited financial resources of patients.

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Oral health/illness and surrounding socio-demographic and behavioral phenomena are poorly documented in the Mexican elderly. To establish the rationales explaining oral health/illness and tailor a Health Promotion intervention (1995-1997) accordingly, an interview nested in a questionnaire was done at baseline, with the recording of 228 interviews transcribed verbatim. Every transcript was subsequently assessed by content-analysis. Results showed that lack of oral hygiene, inadequate calcium intake and old age were the most common explanations of tooth-loss. Only a few factors were felt to be under control: the same state of relative adaptation that characterized people affected by gum problems. The themes that explained them were lack of oral hygiene, and (non-specific) infections. When interviewees evaluated the impact of good oral health on their lives, many made evaluations pertaining to quality of life, adequate function, and an attractive appearance generally.