title: Dental caries and erosion status of 12-year-old Hong Kong children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to assess the dental caries and erosion status of 12-year-old Hong Kong children and study the determinants of dental caries and dental erosion of these children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The survey was performed from 2011 to 2012 with ethics approval. Stratified random sampling was adopted to select 12-year-old children in 7 primary schools in Hong Kong. The participating parents were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire concerning their children's diet and oral health habits. The children were examined for caries status with WHO criteria by 3 calibrated examiners. Detection of dental erosion followed Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 704 children were recruited and 600 (316 boys, 53%) participated in the survey. There were 124 children (21%) with caries experience (DMFT > 0) and their DMFT was 0.34 ± 0.76. About half of their decay was unfilled (DT = 0.16 ± 0.52) The DMFT of girls and boys were 0.45 ± 0.89 and 0.23 ± 0.61, respectively (p = 0.001). Girls also had a higher DT (0.21 ± 0.62 compared with 0.11 ± 0.41, p = 0.013) and FT than boys (0.23 ± 0.63 compared with 0.12 ± 0.44, p = 0.016). Most children (75%) had at least some sign of erosion (BEWE > 0), but no severe erosion (BEWE = 3). Logistic regression showed girls who consumed soft drinks and took vitamin C supplements had higher caries risk. Dental erosion was more severe among the children who had caries experience and consumed fruit juice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 12-year-old Hong Kong children had low caries experience, and almost half of the decay was left untreated. Although severe erosion was not found, many children had early signs of erosion.
authors.forename: Shinan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Alex Mh
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: Edward Cm
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, 34 Hospital Road, Hong Kong, SAR, China. chchu@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Chun-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000009:adverse effects; D001628:Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006304:Health Status; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010290:Parents; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014077:Tooth Erosion / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D001205:Ascorbic Acid