Evaluated the dental wear in deciduous and permanent teeth

Objective: This study identify the prevalence of tooth wear using a modification of the TWI (Tooth Wear Index), in schoolchildren aged 7 to 10-wear-old, in Pederneiras-Brazil.

Methods: An epidemiological survey was performed by trained, calibrated examiner using the Dental Wear Index (DWI). The DWI was proposed to evaluate deciduous and permanent teeth, coded as letters and numbers, respectively. Four public schools were selected including different regions of the city, thus providing a sample that would represent the socio-economic status of the whole population. The sample included 765 children, selected randomly and systematically. Spearman correlation and Mann-Whitney test were used to evaluate of dental wear.

Results: In total, 52.451 dental surfaces were evaluated. Among these surfaces, 83.63% did not present dental wear, 13.29% had incipient lesions, 3.00% had moderate lesions, 0.03% had severe lesions and 0.05% had been restored. Tooth wear was mainly seen on the occlusal/incisal surfaces (85.40%), involving enamel or enamel-dentine, but not the secondary dentine or pulp. The prevalence of dental wear was 16.37%. There was correlation between deciduous and permanent teeth (p<0.001) and greater in the males of whom in the females (p=0.02) of dental wear in deciduous teeth.

Conclusion: The present study supports the consideration a modified TWI is adequate for use in broad epidemiological surveys, due to easier calibration and high reproducibility.