Abstract
The radical increase in consumption of acidic (sour) candies amongst children and teenagers is considered a significant public health concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the erosive potential of sour candy in comparison with their regular counterparts at different exposure times. Sixteen prepared tooth samples were randomly assigned into four groups, namely: sour candy (n=8), regular candy (n=8); each of these was prepared to have protected (unexposed) and exposed surfaces in respective candy solutions for 15 min and 2 h (n=4). An Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) was used to measure the surface roughness (Ra) between the exposed and unexposed enamel surfaces for each sample group. The mean Ra measured was used for statistical analysis whilst the elemental loss was assessed using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX). The findings showed that sour candy significantly eroded the exposed enamel samples (P<0.01). Overall, the samples exposed to the sour candy for 2 h had the highest eroded Ra values. The study suggests that frequent and long-time consumption of sour candies may pose a negative impact on the tooth as they are found to be highly erosive. Key words: Candy; erosion, tooth enamel, sour candy.  
Highlights
Oral disease, tooth decay amongst children, youth and adults have remained a growing concern over the last decade in many parts of the world (Frencken et al, 2017; Pine et al, 2004)
Based on all the quantitative data generated, the hypothesis stated was accepted as the sour candy (A) was significantly more erosive when compared against the regular candy (B) (P
From the data gathered in the present study, there was a significant dissolution of the tooth enamel after 15 min of exposure to sour candy which is characterized by the high percentage loss of calcium and phosphate
Summary
Tooth decay amongst children, youth and adults have remained a growing concern over the last decade in many parts of the world (Frencken et al, 2017; Pine et al, 2004). The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that 60-90% of children suffer from caries associated tooth loss in various developed and developing countries, with an increased incidence of dental caries in many parts of the world (World Health Organization, 2013). Candy has played a documented role in the cause of tooth erosion and subsequently tooth decay for centuries, having first being made in the 16th century, with sweet manufacturing rapidly developing into an industry during the early 19th century (Petersen et al, 2005).
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