Sugar consumption and caries experience in 12- and 13-year-old Icelandic children.

• Dietary habits with regard to sugar consumption and caries experience were studied in a group of 275 Icelandic children aged 12 and 13 years. The pattern of meals and sugar-containing food intake frequency were assessed by means of a dietary questionnaire. All dental examinations were performed by one examiner, using standardized methods and diagnostic criteria. Only 75% of the children had three regular meals daily. Breakfast and lunch were the most frequently omitted meals. Sweet buns were consumed by 32% of the children with meals and by 58% between meals, whereas soft drinks were consumed by 42% and 46%, respectively. Eighty-three per cent of the children reported eating sweets daily. The most popular products included confectionery, buns, cakes, and soft drinks, which constituted 53% of the intake with meals and 68% of that between meals. A higher caries incidence was associated with frequent intake of buns and cakes with meals and confectionery.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Odontologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Dentistry (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Adolescent

Bias (Epidemiology)

Child

Dental Caries

epidemiology

etiology

Diet Surveys

Diet

Cariogenic

Dietary Carbohydrates

adverse effects

Humans

Iceland

Questionnaires

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)