Association between soft drink consumption, gastric reflux, dental erosion, and obesity among special care children.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the association between soft drink consumption, gastric reflux, dental erosion, and obesity among special care children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 350 special care children (male-131, female-219) mean age of 12.6 (+/- 2.6) years were included. Detection of dental erosion was performed according to the World Health Organization criteria. The medical evaluation assessed body mass index (BMI). With appropriate sample weighting, relationships between dental erosion prevalence and obesity were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of dental erosion was 36%. Mean BMI for entire study population was 24.7 (+/- 7.8). Regression analysis showed strong association between dental erosion prevalence and consumption of soft drinks (adjusted odds ratio = 1.8; 95% CI = 0.71-2.92, P < .05), bulimia (adjusted odds ratio = 2.27; 95% CI = 0.99-4.28, P < .001), and gastric reflux (adjusted odds ratio = 2.24; 95% CI = 0.82-4.1, P < .001). Bivariate analysis showed high prevalence of dental erosion among obese children compared to children with normal weight (P = .04). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated a significant association between dental erosion prevalence and consumption of soft drinks and gastric reflux among special care children.