Key Points
-
Highlights that erosive tooth wear is increasingly prevalent.
-
Stresses that monitoring of erosive tooth wear is important for good treatment planning.
-
Suggests a reproducible index for practitioners would be clinically useful.
Abstract
Objective The basic erosive wear examination (BEWE) is a relatively new index proposed for the screening and recording of tooth wear in adults. The aim of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the BEWE.
Design Cross sectional study of a sample of 164 adult patients.
Setting General dental practice in East Lancashire, UK in 2010.
Subjects Patients attending for routine examination or treatment.
Main outcome measures By screening patients with the BEWE and comparing the results to the established tooth wear index (TWI) the sensitivity and specificity of the BEWE was established.
Results The BEWE predicted moderate to severe wear (BEWE grade 3) with a sensitivity of 48.6% and a specificity of 96.1%, and predicted severe wear with a sensitivity of 90.9% and a specificity of 91.5% (also BEWE score 3). Inter- and intra-examiner reliability for the BEWE were both moderate (κw = 0.43 and 0.57 respectively).
Conclusion(s) BEWE scores show a similar distribution to TWI scores and the examination is an effective screening test for severe tooth wear. The moderate levels of examiner reliability suggests the BEWE scores should be interpreted with some caution.
Similar content being viewed by others
Log in or create a free account to read this content
Gain free access to this article, as well as selected content from this journal and more on nature.com
or
References
Van't Spijker A, Rodriguez J M, Kreulen C M, Bronkhorst E M, Bartlett D W, Creugers N H . Prevalence of tooth wear in adults. Int J Prosthodont 2009; 22: 35–42.
Chadwick B, Pendry L . Non carious dental condition. Children's dental health in the United Kingdom 2003. London: The Stationary Office, 2004.
Nunn J, Morris J, Pine C, Pitts N B, Bradnock G, Steele J . The condition of teeth in the UK in 1998 and implications for the future. Br Dent J 2000; 189: 639–644.
O'Brien M . Non carious dental conditions. Children's dental health in the United Kingdom 1993. London: The Stationary Office, 1994.
Al-Omiri M K, Lamey P J, Clifford T . Impact of tooth wear on daily living. Int J Prosthodont 2006; 19: 601–605.
Deery C, Wagner M L, Longbottom C, Simon R, Nugent Z J . The prevalence of dental erosion in a United States and a United Kingdom sample of adolescents. Pediatr Dent 2000; 22: 505–510.
Grippo J O, Simring M, Schreiner S . Attrition, abrasion, corrosion and abfraction revisited: a new perspective on tooth surface lesions. J Am Dent Assoc 2004; 135: 1,109–1,118.
Seligman D A, Pullinger A G, Solberg W K . The prevalence of dental attrition and its association with factors of age, gender, occlusion, and TMJ symptomatology. J Dent Res 1988; 67(10): 1323-1333.
Lussi A . Dental erosion: clinical diagnosis and case history taking. Eur J Oral Sci 2002; 104: 191–198.
Zero D T . Etiology of dental erosion – extrinsic factors. Eur J Oral Sci 1996; 104: 162–177.
Scheutzel P . Etiology of dental erosion – intrinsic factors Eur J Oral Sci. 1996; 104: 178–190.
Eccles J D, Jenkins W G . Dental erosion and diet. J Dent 1974; 2: 153–159.
Smith B G, Knight J K . An index for measuring the wear of teeth. Br Dent J 1984; 156: 435–438.
Lussi A, Schaffner M, Hotz P, Suter P . Dental erosion in a population of Swiss adults. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1991; 19: 286–290.
Bardsley P F . The evolution of tooth wear indices. Clin Oral Investig 2008; 12: S15–S19.
Ganss C, Klimek J, Lussi A . Accuracy and consistency of the visual diagnosis of exposed dentine on worn occlusal/incisal surfaces. Caries Res 2006; 40: 208–212.
Young A, Amaechi B T, Dugmore C et al. Current erosion indices – flawed or valid? Summary. Clin Oral Investig 2008; 12:(Suppl 1) S59–S63.
Bartlett D, Ganss C, Lussi A . Basic erosive wear examination (BEWE): a new scoring system for scientific and clinical needs. Clin Oral Investig 2008; 12:(Suppl 1) S65–S68.
Mulic A, Tveit A B, Wang N J, Hove L H, Espelid I, Skaare A B . Reliability of two clinical scoring systems for dental erosive wear. Caries Res 2010; 44: 294–299.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Refereed Paper
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dixon, B., Sharif, M., Ahmed, F. et al. Evaluation of the basic erosive wear examination (BEWE) for use in general dental practice. Br Dent J 213, E4 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2012.670
Accepted:
Published:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2012.670
This article is cited by
-
Clinical and digital assessment of tooth wear
Scientific Reports (2024)
-
Monitoring of erosive tooth wear: what to use and when to use it
British Dental Journal (2023)
-
Diagnosis and monitoring of tooth wear
BDJ Student (2021)
-
A study to investigate habits with tooth wear assessments among UK and non-UK dental practitioners
British Dental Journal (2020)
-
Evaluation of the assessment of tooth wear by general dental practitioners
British Dental Journal (2020)