title: Prevalence of deciduous tooth erosion in childhood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of deciduous tooth erosion and to identify possible associations with sex, age and toothbrushing frequency in children aged 4-6 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample was drawn from attendants (n = 7058) of 57 public preschools in a Brazilian city. Tooth wear index was used to evaluate erosion. Descriptive statistical analysis consisted of the calculation of the prevalence of dental erosion; chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were performed to verify the association between dental erosion and sex, age and toothbrushing frequency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two thousand and seven hundred and fifty-nine preschool students were examined. Deciduous tooth erosion was observed in 0.6% of children and its incidence did not differ between sexes. The highest prevalence was observed in children aged 6 years (58.3%) and the most affected sextants were the fourth (22.86%) and sixth (20.00%), indicating that lingual and occlusal tooth surfaces were most frequently involved. The degree of involvement was classified as incipient in 54.29% of children and moderate in 45.71%. The significance level was set at 5%. No association was found between erosion and sex, age or toothbrushing frequency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of deciduous tooth erosion was low in Brazilian children, and this disorder is not considered a public health problem in this part of the population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infant and Social Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Araçatuba Dental School, UNESP, Araçatuba, Brazil.
authors.forename: S A S
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Moimaz
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.forename: F Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: C A S
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Garbín
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Saliba
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014077:Tooth Erosion / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: child; dental erosion; health survey; oral health