a comparison of the caries risk between patients who use vapes or electronic cigarettes and those who do not: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a cross-sectional study investigating the association between electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) or vape use and caries risk level. The study utilized the Caries Management by Risk assessment (CaMBRa) tool to assess the caries risk level of patients who use e-cigarettes or vapes compared to those who do not.

Key Points:

* The study included 13,098 patients who attended dental school clinics from 2019 to 2022.
* Of these, 0.69% reported using e-cigarettes or vapes.
* Results showed a statistically significant difference (P<.001) in caries risk levels between the e-cigarette or vape group and the control group.
* The e-cigarette or vape group had a higher proportion of patients in the high caries risk category (79.1%) compared to the control group (59.6%).
* Multivariable ordinal logistic regression found a statistically significant difference (P<.001) in caries risk level between the control group and the e-cigarette or vape group.
* The control group exhibited lower caries risk levels than the e-cigarette or vape group, with an odds ratio of 0.36 (95% CI, 0.22 to 0.60).
* Male patients had a significantly higher caries risk level (P<.001) than female patients when adjusting for vaping and age group.

Main Message:
The study found an association between e-cigarette or vape use and caries risk level, with vaping patients having a higher risk of developing caries. These findings suggest that dental professionals should consider e-cigarette or vape use as a risk factor in caries management protocols and include it in routine dental-medical history questionnaires. a larger, longitudinal study is recommended to further investigate the relationship between e-cigarette or vape use and caries risk.

Irusa KF, Finkelman M, Magnuson B, Donovan T, Eisen SE. a comparison of the caries risk between patients who use vapes or electronic cigarettes and those who do not: a cross-sectional study. Journal of the american Dental association (1939). 2022;153(12):1179-1183. doi:10.1016/j.adaj.2022.09.013