General Tooth Wear and Erosive Tooth Wear Among Cambodian Adolescents

Objective: General tooth wear (GTW) (of non-specific aetiology) and more specifically erosive wear (ETW) are emerging public health problems globally. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and severity of GTW and ETW among 13 -15 year-old adolescents in Phnom Penh. Method: A cross sectional study was carried out in two public and two private secondary schools in Phnom Penh. The study group consisted of 492 13-15 year-old adolescents. The clinical examination and recording of GTW and ETW were performed by 6 trained and calibrated examiners using the Smith and Knight’s Tooth Wear Index (TWI) and the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index respectively. Result: 99.2% of the subjects presented with at least one tooth with TWI Score 1. Out of these subjects that presented with GTW, 58.6% had lesions limited to enamel (TWI 1), while only 4.5% presented with dentine lesions involving more than 1/3 of the surface (TWI 3). The most frequently affected surfaces were the incisal and occlusal surfaces (98.2%), and its distribution of severity was 58.7%, 36.8% and 4.5% (TWI 1, 2 and 3). The prevalence of subjects with at least one tooth with a BEWE Score of 1 was 71.8%. Out of these subjects that presented with ETW, 63.1% presented with hard tissue loss of less than half of the surface area (BEWE Score 2) and only 7.7% showed initial loss of surface texture (BEWE 1). The most frequently affected surfaces were again the incisal or occlusal surfaces (68.8%), and the distribution of its severity was 8.6%, 63.5% and 27.9% (BEWE 1, 2 and 3). Conclusion: Among 13-15 year-old adolescents in Phnom Penh, GTW is more prevalent than ETW but it is not severe. The prevalence and severity of ETW, is higher than many published data from other countries.