The in vitro erosive potential of a range of baby drinks.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess the erosive potential of a range of commercially available baby drinks in the laboratory.


METHODS
The erosive potential of each product was assessed by measuring its initial pH, neutralizable acidity, and ability to erode primary and permanent enamel. These parameters were compared to those of an orange juice positive control.


RESULTS
The initial pH of the baby drinks ranged from 3.5 to 4.0 with their neutralizable acidity ranging from 5.76 to 16.02 mL of 0.1 m NaOH. The amount of primary enamel removed following 1-h immersion in the drinks ranged from 3.77 to 8.10 microns, while the amount of permanent enamel removed ranged from 1.09 to 4.86 microns. In comparison, the orange juice control (Tropicana smooth) had an initial pH of 3.86, a neutralizable acidity of 37.0 mL of 0.1 m NaOH, and removed 6.39 microns of primary enamel and 5.32 microns of permanent enamel.


CONCLUSIONS
All the baby drinks tested were found to be erosive; some of the products were as erosive as orange juice.
Hunter
Lindsay
L
Applied Clinical Research and Public Health, Cardiff University, School of Dentistry, Cardiff CF14 4XY, UK. hunterml@cf.ac.uk
Patel
Satin
S
Rees
Jeremy
J