Assessment of tooth wear depending on Smith and Knight index

UNLABELLED: For the clinical diagnosis of tooth wear Smith and Knight have been suggested the index with the same name, the criteria for the quantification of the hard tissue loss being the size of the area affected and the depth of the defect. The aim of this study was to assess tooth wear depending on Smith and Knight index, on a group of 614 patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The criteria for the selection of the patients were the age more than 18 years old and the Smith and Knight index >0. RESULTS: The biggest proportion of tooth wear (47.3%) presented the value 2 of the Smith and Knight index. Most of the tooth wear with Smith and Knight index 3 (54.4%) are abrasions, 71.4% of the tooth wear with Smith and Knight index 1 are attritions, and 20.3% of the tooth wear with Smith and Knight index 3 are erosions. High alcohol consumption is associated with deep tooth wear, exposing dentine (value 2 and 3 of the Smith and Knight index). Currently, various indices are used, making the comparison of the results of prevalence studies difficult.