Asthma and tooth erosion. Is there an association?
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether there is an association between asthma and tooth erosion in a representative random sample of adolescents in the East Midlands.


METHODS
A random sample of 1753 12-year-old children was examined in all schools in Leicestershire and Rutland. 1308 children were re-examined 2 years later. Tooth erosion was assessed using the index employed in the Children's Dental Health in the UK Survey 1993. Asthma presence was recorded on a self-completed questionnaire at the time of the 12 years examination. Data on asthma prescribing over a one year period was obtained from the Prescription Pricing Authority.


RESULTS
Asthma was present in 16.8% of 12-year-olds. Tooth erosion was recorded in 59% of children with asthma and in 59.7% who were asthma free. There was no significant difference in erosion prevalence between asthmatics and asthma free in a cohort of children at age 12 or 14 years, and the incidence of erosion was 12.8% and 12.3%, respectively. 88% of drugs prescribed for treatment of asthma had a pH above the critical pH of 5.5.


CONCLUSIONS
There was no association between asthma and tooth erosion. The majority of drugs prescribed for the treatment of asthma are not potentially erosive.
Dugmore
C R
CR
Melton Rutland and Harborough NHS Trust, Leicester. Christopher.Dugmore@mrh-pct.nhs.uk
Rock
W P
WP
D000293:Adolescent; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014077:Tooth Erosion / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents