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Tooth wear and the role of salivary measures in general practice patients

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Abstract

Objectives

The goal of this study was to investigate the association between tooth wear and salivary measures in a random sample of patients from practices of dentist members of a practice-based research network.

Materials and methods

Patients completed a questionnaire on oral self-care, health, dietary habits, medications, and socio-demographic variables. Six salivary characteristics (consistency, resting salivary flow, resting salivary pH, stimulated salivary flow, stimulated salivary pH, and buffering capacity) were measured, and a dental examination included categorizing patients according to the dentist’s judgment of the degree of tooth wear (i.e., none/minimal, some, or severe/extreme). Bivariate and multinomial logistic regression models were used to relate salivary characteristics and other factors to the outcome of tooth wear.

Results

Data are reported from 1,323 patients (age range 16–97 years) from 61 practices. Patient age, gender, number of teeth, and perception of dry mouth were associated with tooth wear, but salivary and dietary factors were either weakly or not related.

Conclusions

The findings of this cross-sectional assessment suggest that using these salivary tests and dietary assessments in real-life clinical settings is unlikely to be useful in assessing tooth wear risk. Suggestions are offered about risk assessment for tooth wear.

Clinical relevance

Assessing a dental patient’s risk of tooth wear using salivary measures and dietary assessments as described is not recommended for general dental practice until stronger evidence exists indicating its utility.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the dentist-investigator members of the Northwest Practice-based REsearch Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry (Northwest PRECEDENT) and their staff for their invaluable contributions. This study is submitted on behalf of the Northwest PRECEDENT network, with support from NIDCR grants DE016750 and DE016752.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral Health Sciences, University of Washington, Box #357475, Seattle, WA, 98195-7475, USA

    Douglas S. Ramsay, Marilynn Rothen & Joana Cunha-Cruz

  2. Department of Orthodontics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Douglas S. Ramsay

  3. Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Douglas S. Ramsay & JoAnna M. Scott

  4. Regional Clinical Dental Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Marilynn Rothen

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  1. Douglas S. Ramsay
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  2. Marilynn Rothen
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  4. Joana Cunha-Cruz
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on behalf of the Northwest PRECEDENT network

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Correspondence to Douglas S. Ramsay.

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Ramsay, D.S., Rothen, M., Scott, J.M. et al. Tooth wear and the role of salivary measures in general practice patients. Clin Oral Invest 19, 85–95 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-014-1223-4

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