Tobacco and Areca nut Chewing induces Dental attrition and sensitivity
Very little is known about the role of chewing of tobacco and areca nut on the oral dental hard tissues. An attempt was made to observe the effects of these materials on dental hard tissues. A total of 365 subjects (168 chewers and 197 non chewers) were enrolled randomly. The chewers were addicted to different chewing preparations. Examination of teeth was carried out clinically and dental attrition and staining were observed. The results indicated significantly higher frequency of dental attrition, sensitivity and staining of teeth among chewers than non-chewers. Further, analysis of data indicated a significantly higher attrition score for molar and anterior teeth among chewers with respect to non-chewers. The attrition score was also higher for premolar but this was not statistically significant with respect to non-chewers. The chewing these materials also leads to staining of teeth, which was also significantly higher among chewers. Chewing areca nut and tobacco have the adverse effect on dentine structure and function as more dentine attrition and sensitivity was observed among chewers than non-chewers.