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 so me 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 d erived from a tooth-by-tooth evaluation of casts. The results showed t hat men had significantly greater wear than women. Other factors which were found to correlate significantly with increased occlusal wear we re: age, increased bite force, decreased occlusal tactile sensitivity, increased endurance time, and reduced tendency for crowding in the de ntal arches. In the salivary analysis, it was found that low buffer ca pacity and low rate of secretion were significantly correlated with hi gh wear. Cephalometric variables shown to be correlated with increased wear were retroclination and position of maxillary incisors, and grea ter interincisal angle. The results from this study also suggest that the associations of attrition with certain dentoalveolar morphologic f eatures are similar in the present contemporary sample and various non contemporary populations.