Prevalence and severity of occlusal tooth wear in a young Saudi population

An epidemiologic investigation of the prevalence and severity of occlusal wear was carried out in a young Saudi population. Occlusal wear was evaluated on a tooth-by-tooth basis on study casts made for 206 dental students, using an ordinal scale. The reliability of the scale was assessed by percentage inter- and intra-observer concordance. The mean occlusal wear was high for the population studied. The sample presented the highest wear scores in the incisor region, maxillary canines, and mandibular molars. Comparison with other studies of similarly aged Western populations showed a more extensive pattern of wear in the present sample, pointing to the possible role of environmental influences.