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Sohn W, Burt BA et al. J Dent Res 2006; 85: 262–266

There is evidence that children in the USA have increased the diversity of their drinks over recent years, with carbonated drinks and fruit juices replacing much water and milk. The possible association of carbonated soft drinks with caries recently has been the subject of contradictory reports. This study compared data from a 24 hr dietary recall interview in NHANES III with dental caries experience in 5985 children aged 2-10 yrs.

Subjects were clustered into 4 groups with fluid intake high in: carbonated soft drinks (n=619), fruit juice (1201), milk (1387) and plain water (2778). Respective weighted % of caries-free children in these groups were 52, 64, 66 and 62 (P = 0.014). A logistic regression analysis identified a significant OR of 1.8 for the first group having 1 or more decayed or filled surfaces. Other significant ORs included age >2yrs, race other than white or black, and socio-economic status low or middle level. The authors point out that this was a cross-sectional study, and therefore is not direct evidence of causality.