Long-term occlusal tooth wear at the onset of permanent dentition

This study quantified the long-term occlusal wear in the natural posterior teeth and the associations per tooth type within the dentition.

The sample included 70 orthodontically treated subjects (52 females and 18 males; median age, 14.3 years), followed for a 12.7-year period. They were consecutively selected with no tooth wear-related criteria. Post-treatment (T1) and follow-up dental casts (T2) were scanned and superimposed through three-dimensional methods. Occlusal wear volume of posterior teeth and tooth wear patterns were investigated through non-parametric statistics and analysis of covariance.

There were no significant differences between contralateral teeth. The average occlusal wear per posterior tooth was 2.3 mm³, with 65.2% of teeth showing values greater than 1 mm³. Males, mandibular teeth, and first molars exhibited slightly greater wear levels than females (median, 2.57 and 2.21 mm³, respectively; p = 0.005), maxillary teeth, and first or second premolars, respectively. In all first premolars and in the mandibular second premolars, the buccal cusps were primarily affected with no other distinct patterns. There were weak to moderate correlations between tooth types, apart from certain strong correlations detected in males.

Posterior tooth wear was highly prevalent after a 13-year period starting at the onset of permanent dentition. The detected patterns are in accordance with the concept of canine guidance occlusion that is transforming into group synergy through function.

The widespread tooth wear occurrence and the high intra- and inter-individual variability underline the need for individual patient monitoring to identify high-risk patients at early stages.