Severity, distribution, and correlates of occlusal tooth wear in a sample of Mexican-American and European-American adults.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to determine the severity, distribution, and correlates of tooth wear in a sample of Mexican-American and European-American adults drawn from a community-based longitudinal aging study on oral health.


METHODS
The maxillary teeth of 71 subjects enrolled in a longitudinal aging study were assessed using a previously introduced five-point (0 to 4) ordinal scoring system in which each tooth is given a score describing the severity of wear. The tooth wear scores were compared with data concerning demographic factors, functional/parafunctional habits, soft drink consumption, and bite force measurements to determine specific correlates of tooth wear.


RESULTS
The mean wear score for all teeth was 1.50 on the five-point scale. There was a significant difference between the mean wear score of anterior teeth (1.85) and posterior teeth (1.17). Bivariate analyses detected a moderate degree of correlation between maxillary tooth wear and age and bite force. Maxillary tooth wear was significantly greater in males and in subjects with reported teeth clenching/grinding. Multivariate analyses revealed that age, gender, bite force, self-reported teeth clenching/grinding, and number of daily meals/snacks had significant correlations with maxillary tooth wear.


CONCLUSIONS
The overall severity of maxillary tooth wear in this sample of Mexican-American and European-American adults was low, with anterior teeth having a greater degree of wear than posterior teeth. Age, gender, bite force, teeth clenching/grinding, and number of daily meals/snacks are potential factors that may have contributed to tooth wear in the study sample.
Pigno
M A
MA
Maxillofacial Prosthetics Tertiary Care Center, Department of Prosthodontics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 78229-3900, USA. pigno@uthscsa.edu
Hatch
J P
JP
Rodrigues-Garcia
R C
RC
Sakai
S
S
Rugh
J D
JD
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001732:Bite Force; D002012:Bruxism / Q000145:classification / Q000208:ethnology; D002253:Carbonated Beverages; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014072:Tooth Abrasion / Q000145:classification / Q000208:ethnology*; D019217:Tooth Attrition / Q000145:classification / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States; D044465:White People