Tooth wear and obesity: investigating the impact of BMI, waist circumference, and oral health-related quality of life

This study evaluated the association between tooth-wear risk and obesity-related measures, and explored its impact on the Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) among Pakistani adults. This single-centred cross-sectional study examined tooth wear using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) in 406 participants visiting the dental clinics of a tertiary care hospital, aged 18–65 years. The Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire, available in English and a validated Urdu translation, was completed. Age, sex, weight, height, Body-Mass Index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) were recorded. Data were analysed using. SPSS version 23.0. Higher BMI and WC were significantly associated with increased tooth wear severity ( p < 0.001). Thirty-five (22.3%) and 44 (28.8%) participants in the increased and higher-high risk BMI categories, respectively, had BEWE scores ≥ 14. Fifty-seven (32.8%) males and 19 (17.3%) females in the excessive risk group for WC had BEWE scores ≥ 14. Multinomial logistic regression showed that increasing BMI and WC were significantly associated with higher odds of being in the medium- and high-risk tooth wear groups. A slight increasing trend in OHIP-14 scores was observed with increasing wear severity, differences across risk groups were not statistically significant ( p = 0.956). However, specific functional impacts were observed; participants in higher tooth wear risk groups and those reporting frequent GERD symptoms showed significantly greater impairment in taste perception ( p < 0.05). Higher BMI and waist circumference were associated with higher BEWE tooth-wear categories among Pakistani adults. BMI and waist circumference represent general and central adiposity, respectively. However, the cross-sectional design precludes conclusions regarding causality or tooth-wear progression. Overall OHRQoL did not differ significantly across tooth-wear categories, although an exploratory association with worsening taste perception was observed.