THE INVESTIGATION ON THE DEGREE OF TOOTH WEAR IN ELDERLY PEOPLE

Objective:To investigate the tooth wear and factors affect tooth wear in elderly. Methods:Eighty-eight elderly were examined with the questionnaire of factors cause tooth wear. The Smith Knight's Tooth Wear Index were used. Results:Both incisor and canine groups showed median scores of 3, which corresponding to extensive wear into the dentine, large dentine area(2mm2) exposed occlusally/incisally tooth surface, occlusal/incisal morphology totally lost locally or generally, substantial loss of crown height;premolar group showed median score of 1, corresponding to marketed wear facets in the enamel, occlusal/incisal morphology altered; molar group had a median score of 2, which corresponding to wear into the dentine,dentine area( 2mm2) exposed occlusally tooth surface, occlusall morphology changed in shape with height reduction of the crown. Multiple factors most frequently considered to be contributed to tooth wear, the habituation of eating hard diet or sour diet has significant correlation with tooth wear(P 0.05). Conclusion:In both arches, anterior teeth of elderly people exhibited greater wear than did posterior teeth. Tooth wear not only affect normal masticatory movement, but also causes esthetic problems for the patients.