Sugary drink consumption and dental caries in New South Wales teenagers

Abstract

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.