The Prevalence of Tooth Wear among a Group of Yemeni Adults.

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating tooth wear prevalence and determining the associated factors among a group of Yemeni adults. It is a preliminary cross-sectional and analytical investigation conducted on 600 participants aged 20–50 years. The participants were purposively selected from two main cities (Sana’a and Aden) with an equal sample size and divided equally by gender. For administering a questionnaire, interviews were conducted with all participants before clinically examining them. Using the Tooth Wear Index (TWI), tooth wear was assessed. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test to identify the relationship between tooth wear and associated factors., Tooth wear was prevalent among 78.67% of the participants; of which 64.83% were in anterior teeth, 63.83% in posterior teeth, 74% in maxillary teeth, and approximately 74.5% in mandibular teeth. It also was 100% prevalent in the 31-40 and 41-50 age groups, while it was 67.2% in the 20-30 age group. This showed that tooth wear prevalence was significantly higher in the two oldest groups than in the youngest group (p<0.001). Moreover, khat chewing, location, highly frequent consumption of foods and high frequency of acidic drinks consumption were critical indicators of tooth wear. Besides, a low education level, smoking and a low socio-economic status were associated with tooth wear. Finally, the study revealed that tooth wear is highly prevalent among adults in two Yemeni cities, and socio-behavioral risk indicators such as khat chewing and cigarette smoking have a significantly association with tooth wear.