Analyses of the Erosive Potential of Various Soft Drinks and Packaged Fruit Juices on Teeth.

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the erosive potential of twenty beverages (8 carbonated drinks and 12 packaged fruit juices). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-one sound permanent freshly extracted teeth were segmented into small enamel slices and stored in normal saline. The titratable acidity of each experimental drink was measured as the amount of 0.1 N sodium hydroxide (NaOH) required to raise pH to 5.5 and 7. The enamel specimens were incubated in freshly collected human saliva for 3 hours. One enamel slice was immersed in each beverage and percentage weight loss in the enamel slice was calculated after 6 and 24 hours intervals. RESULTS: The titratable acidity values of the experimental drinks ranged from 0.2 to 5.6. The mean titratable acidity values of the packaged fruit juices were higher than carbonated drinks. A significant difference (p < 0.0 5) was found in the percentage weight loss of enamel specimens after 6 and 24 hours immersion in the carbonated drinks than packaged fruit juices. Apple juice followed by thumps up were found to be the most erosive drinks with the least effects of Miranda and Guava juice. CONCLUSION: Most of the beverages tested in this study showed erosive potential. The carbonated drinks caused significant dental erosion. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Individuals at risk for beverages-associated erosion, particularly those with high intakes or decreased salivary flow, should be provided preventive guidance regarding habits of beverages intake. Specific dietary recommendations for the prevention of dental erosion may now be developed based on the patient's history of beverage consumption.

A web-based contingency management program with adolescent smokers.

The present study evaluated a new 30-day Web-based contingency management program for smoking abstinence with 4 daily-smoking adolescents. Participants made 3 daily video recordings of themselves giving breath carbon monoxide (CO) samples at home that were sent electronically to study personnel. Using a reversal design, participants could earn money for continued abstinence during the treatment phases (CO < or =5 ppm). All participants were compliant with the treatment (submitting 97.2% of samples), and all achieved prolonged abstinence from smoking.

Laboratory and self-report assessments of impulsive behavior in adolescent daily smokers and nonsmokers.

This research compared adolescent daily smokers (n=25) and nonsmokers (n=26) on different measures of impulsivity. Assessments included question-based measures of delay (DDQ) and probability (PDQ) discounting, a measure of behavioral disinhibition (go-stop task), and a self-report measure of impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Adolescent). Adolescent smokers were more impulsive on the DDQ and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale--Adolescent but not on the PDQ or the go-stop task. However, there was a significant interaction between smoking status and gender on the go-stop task, with male smokers performing less impulsively on this measure than male nonsmokers--an effect not observed with the female adolescents. These findings indicate that adolescents who smoke cigarettes are more impulsive with respect to some, but not all, types of impulsivity than are adolescents who do not smoke.

Adolescent smokers rate delayed rewards as less certain than adolescent nonsmokers.

This research compared adolescent smokers (n=45) and nonsmokers (n=35) on ratings of certainty about receiving delayed rewards during a delay discounting procedure. Consistent with a previous finding [Patak, M., Reynolds, B., 2007. Question-based assessments of delay discounting: do respondents spontaneously incorporate uncertainty into their valuations for delayed rewards? Addict. Behav. 32, 351-357] participants generally rated the delayed rewards as increasingly uncertain with longer delays, and ratings of certainty were correlated with delay discounting (r=.37). Also, the adolescent smokers rated the delayed rewards as significantly less certain than the nonsmokers. These findings indicate that adolescents who smoke cigarettes evaluate delayed outcomes as less certain than adolescents who do not smoke cigarettes.