Comparison of Tooth Wear Among Young Sports Persons Involved in Individual and Team Sports- A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUNDTooth wear has multifactorial etiology & defined as non-self-reparable loss of hard tissue in the absence of dental caries or trauma. One of the valid aetiologies for pathological tooth wear is stress. During sports activity, athletes tend to clench their teeth involuntarily which results in tooth wear, especially in young sportspersons. Hence, we designed a study to evaluate and compare tooth wear among young sportspersons involved in individual and team sports. METHODSThe study population comprised 300 subjects and were divided into two groups, group 1 (150 individuals involved in individual sports activity) & group 2 (150 individuals involved in team sport activity) The Tooth wear index was assessed based on Smith & Knight scoring criteria (1984). RESULTS88.6% of study participants showed tooth wear in individual sports & 84% in team sports. Tooth wear was highest in the mandibular & maxillary central incisor of both individual & team sports individuals. CONCLUSIONWe found that both individual and team sports players showed tooth wear, especially in the incisal surface of mandibular & maxillary incisors, which might reflect the underlying stress or anxiety. This study is the first of its kind to evaluate and compare tooth wear among young sportspersons involved in individual and team sports in India.