Wear of teeth in a mentally retarded population

The study includes an evaluation of dental wear in 69 individuals, 44 men and 25 women, of mean age 35 years and range 18-59 years, living in a home for mentally retarded persons. Wear was evaluated with a newly developed index based on Ryges' system, where the need for treatment is the key issue. The index consisted of three categories representing clinical situations from no wear to moderate, age dependent wear without problems for the patient, and two categories in which treatment was found to be necessary either to prevent future problems or to improve the present situation. A relatively large number of teeth showed considerable wear in the 20-29 year age group. Wear was observed predominantly in incisors and canines. Only 1% of cases were considered to require treatment. Wear increased with age, and more than 5% of teeth were diagnosed as needing treatment in the 30-39 year and 40-49 year age groups. Wear in the studied population was found to be more severe than that observed in an urban population from the same area in a parallel study.