COVARIATION OF SOME FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH OCCLUSAL TOOTH WEAR IN A SELECTED HIGH-WEAR SAMPLE

The aim of the present study was to investigate the significance of some factors associated with occlusal tooth wear in a selected high-wear Swedish sample. The material comprised 59 subjects having a mean age of 35 yr within the range 16-70 yr, the criteria for selection being a full or nearly full complement of natural teeth, and the presence of definite clinical signs of occlusal wear. A dentition wear index was derived from a tooth-by-tooth evaluation of casts. The results showed that men had significantly greater wear than women. Other factors which were found to correlate significantly with increased occlusal wear were: age, increased bite force, decreased occlusal tactile sensitivity, increased endurance time, and reduced tendency for crowding in the dental arches. In the salivary analysis, it was found that low buffer capacity and low rate of secretion were significantly correlated with high wear. Cephalometric variables shown to be correlated with increased wear were retroclination and position of maxillary incisors, and greater interincisal angle. The results from this study also suggest that the associations of attrition with certain dentoalveolar morphologic features are similar in the present contemporary sample and various noncontemporary populations.