Abstract
BackgroundWhether an association between alcohol consumption and dental caries exists is still unclear. Chinese Baijiu is the most common alcohol consumed by middle-aged and elderly Chinese individuals. This study aimed to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption (Chinese Baijiu) and dental caries in Guangdong Province, southern China.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in Guangdong Province using a multistage, stratified, equal-sized, random sampling strategy. In total, 576 individuals aged 55–74 were recruited to fill out a questionnaire through face-to-face and one-on-one interviews and to undergo a series of dental examinations with a Community Periodontal Index (CPI) probe. According to the standard for clinical dentition examination of the WHO 2013 criteria, the presence of dental caries was determined by the DFT/DFRoot (decayed-filled tooth/root) index. The ratios of males to females and urban people to countrymen were both 1:1. Then, the chi-square test and rank-sum tests were used to compare the differences in caries between subgroups, and multivariate logistic regression analyses, as well as negative binomial regression analyses, were executed to identify the potential relationship between alcohol consumption and caries.ResultsThe prevalence of crown caries was 79.17% with a DFT index of 3.19, while that of root caries was 61.28% with a DFRoot index of 2.08. The prevalence and mean tooth of crown caries of females were higher than those of males. The prevalence and mean DFRoot of root caries in rural areas were higher than those in urban areas. The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis and negative binomial regression analysis showed that there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the consumption frequency of Chinese Baijiu and caries (often vs. never/rarely, crown caries: odds ratio (OR) = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.26–1.13, P = 0.103, incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44–0.92, P = 0.015; root caries: OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.24–0.93, P = 0.030, IRR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.32–0.54, P = 0.008).ConclusionsWithin the limitations of this study, frequent consumption of Chinese Baijiu was a protective factor for caries in middle-aged and elderly people in Guangdong Province. However, considering the harm of alcohol to one’s general health, it is recommended to drink moderately and avoid alcohol abuse.
Highlights
Whether an association between alcohol consumption and dental caries exists is still unclear
Within the limitations of this study, frequent consumption of Chinese Baijiu was a protective factor for caries in middle-aged and elderly people in Guangdong Province
A total of 576 participants were included in this study: half were male and half were female, half were from urban areas and half were from rural areas, and half were aged 55–64 years old and half were aged 65–74 years old
Summary
Whether an association between alcohol consumption and dental caries exists is still unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between alcohol consumption (Chinese Baijiu) and dental caries in Guangdong Province, southern China. Dental caries is the most common chronic bacterial infectious disease and is an alarming public health problem worldwide. The prevalence of caries in permanent teeth ranks first among the 328 major diseases reported by the Lancet [1]. In 2015, approximately 2.5 billion people worldwide had untreated dental caries in their permanent teeth [2]. Untreated caries were found to be responsible for 12% of global productivity losses due to dental diseases [2]. Dental caries is one of the most common diseases seriously affecting oral health status.
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