title: Sugary drink consumption and dental caries in New South Wales teenagers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The consumption of water, milk and various sugary drinks and their relationship with the caries experience of a random sample of teenagers aged 14 to 15 years living in New South Wales, Australia was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from both clinical and questionnaire components of the NSW Teen Dental Survey, 2010. The analyses allowed for various demographic and behavioural risk factors using caries experience (DMFT >0) and mean DMFT as the key outcome variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Males were more likely than females to consume large volumes of sugary drinks. Consuming two or more glasses of sugary drinks per day led to significantly increased caries experience amongst this sample of 14 and 15 year olds. Factors found to be associated with elevated sugary drink consumption included family income, gender, and mother's education level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a strong correlation between increased caries experience of NSW teenagers and high levels of consumption of sugary drinks.
authors.affiliation: Population Oral Health Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Sydney, New South Wales.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research, Evidence Management and Surveillance, Sydney and South Western Sydney Local Health Districts, New South Wales.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Byun
authors.affiliation: Population Oral Health Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Sydney, New South Wales.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blinkhorn
authors.affiliation: Population Oral Health Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Sydney, New South Wales.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D016497:Adolescent Health Services; D001628:Beverages; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose
keywords: Adolescent health; dental caries; soft drink; sugary drinks