Association between tooth wear severity and oral health-related quality of life in Mexican adults attending university dental clinics

To evaluate the association between tooth wear severity and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in Mexican adults attending university dental clinics. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 338 adults aged ≥35 years treated at eight peripheral dental clinics of the Faculty of Higher Studies Iztacala, National Autonomous University of Mexico. OHRQoL was assessed using the OHIP-Mx-49, and tooth wear severity using an adapted approach based on the Smith and Knight Tooth Wear Index (TWI). Caries experience, malocclusion, temporomandibular disorders, periodontal disease, and dentin hypersensitivity were also assessed. Bivariate analysis used nonparametric tests and multivariate analysis used negative binomial regression. Mean age was 50.35 ± 10.8 years; 66.9% were female. Tooth wear was mild in 26.9%, moderate in 55.0%, and severe in 18.1%. Mean OHIP-Mx-49 score was 46.70 ± 32.99. In adjusted analysis, moderate (RR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.82-1.12) and severe (RR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.73-1.13) tooth wear were not significantly associated with OHIP-Mx-49 scores. Caries experience, temporomandibular disorders, and dentin hypersensitivity were independently associated with impaired OHRQoL. Tooth wear severity was not statistically significantly associated with OHRQoL after adjustment for clinical and sociodemographic factors. As all participants had tooth wear, findings concern differences in severity within this sample and do not permit comparisons with adults without tooth wear.