Effects of Carbonated Beverage Consumption on Oral pH and Bacterial Proliferation in Adolescents: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

1. figure no: 4 is complex and needs to be repeated using another type of charts.

2. you mentioned in the conclusion that the Ingestion of sucrose-containing soft drinks favors the acidification of salivary pH and the bacterial proliferation of dental biofilm. I think this is very basic fact. however you need to cast the light on the effect of the frequency of sucrose-containing soft drinks. so, my recommendation to re-write the conclusion in the way you show the strength of your study.

3. please you need to discuss the following statement in your discussion section:"Oral health educators can reinforce important practices such as decreasing the frequency of consumption and time duration of beverage contact with the teeth. "

4. Compare your study's findings with the following study:The association between beverage consumption pattern and dental problems in Iranian adolescents: a cross sectional study 

Naimeh Hasheminejad 1 , Tayebeh Malek Mohammadi 2 , Mohammad Reza Mahmoodi 3 , Moein Barkam 1 , Arash Shahravan 4 

Author Response

Suggestion 1.

Thanks for your recommendation.

Figure 4 has been modified for better understanding. Panel A) intragroup changes, panel B) intergroup changes (Lines 224-232).

Suggestion 2.

Thanks for the recommendation.

We adding the recommendation in the conclusion (Lines 323-325).

Suggestion 3.

We agree with the recommendation and add a paragraph to the discussion (Lines 310-318).

Suggestion 4. 

Thanks for the recommendation. We added the article to the discussion (Lines 302-306).

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Editor,

in my opinion the research is well designed and conclusions are relevant even if the sample is quite limited.

I suggest to Authors to reinforce the limitations of the research due to the limited sample.

Moreover I found a couple of articles that investigated the effect of sugar free drinks in biofilms and caries. Maybe they could be considered in the discussion.

Apart from these minor revisions I recommend for publication

Author Response

Suggestion 1. We rewrite about this limitation:

We recognize the small sample size as a limitation. This did not allow us to observe significant differences in changes in the pH of dental biofilm. Although each patient was his own control, it is necessary to include a greatest sample size for further studies (Line 293-296).

Suggestion 2. 

Thanks for the recommendation.

We included two articles about this topic (Lines 280-282).

Giacaman RA, Pailahual V, Díaz-Garrido N. Cariogenicity induced by commercial carbonated beverages in an experimental biofilm-caries model. Eur J Dent. 2018;12(1):27–35.

Giacaman RA, Campos P, Muñoz-Sandoval C, Castro RJ. Cariogenic potential of commercial sweeteners in an experimental biofilm caries model on enamel. Arch Oral Biol. 2013 Sep;58(9):1116–22.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx