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Scientific Reports· 2026Q1

Tooth wear and obesity: investigating the impact of BMI, waist circumference, and oral health-related quality of life

Fakeha Azhar Syed, Syed Murtaza Raza Kazmi, Rubbeya Shahid, Taimur Khalid

Short summary

Higher BMI and waist circumference are significantly associated with increased tooth wear severity (BEWE scores ≥ 14) in Pakistani adults, though overall oral health quality of life (OHRQoL) did not significantly differ across wear categories.

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Key points

  • Higher BMI and waist circumference are significantly associated with increased tooth wear severity in Pakistani adults (p < 0.001).
  • 22.3% and 28.8% of participants in increased and higher-risk BMI categories, respectively, had BEWE scores ≥ 14.
  • Overall Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) did not significantly differ across tooth wear categories (p = 0.956).
  • Participants in higher tooth wear risk groups showed significantly greater impairment in taste perception (p < 0.05).

AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.

Abstract

This study evaluated the association between tooth-wear risk and obesity-related measures, and explored its impact on the Oral-Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) among Pakistani adults. This single-centred cross-sectional study examined tooth wear using the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) in 406 participants visiting the dental clinics of a tertiary care hospital, aged 18–65 years. The Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire, available in English and a validated Urdu translation, was completed. Age, sex, weight, height, Body-Mass Index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) were recorded. Data were analysed using. SPSS version 23.0. Higher BMI and WC were significantly associated with increased tooth wear severity ( p < 0.001). Thirty-five (22.3%) and 44 (28.8%) participants in the increased and higher-high risk BMI categories, respectively, had BEWE scores ≥ 14. Fifty-seven (32.8%) males and 19 (17.3%) females in the excessive risk group for WC had BEWE scores ≥ 14. Multinomial logistic regression showed that increasing BMI and WC were significantly associated with higher odds of being in the medium- and high-risk tooth wear groups. A slight increasing trend in OHIP-14 scores was observed with increasing wear severity, differences across risk groups were not statistically significant ( p = 0.956). However, specific functional impacts were observed; participants in higher tooth wear risk groups and those reporting frequent GERD symptoms showed significantly greater impairment in taste perception ( p < 0.05). Higher BMI and waist circumference were associated with higher BEWE tooth-wear categories among Pakistani adults. BMI and waist circumference represent general and central adiposity, respectively. However, the cross-sectional design precludes conclusions regarding causality or tooth-wear progression. Overall OHRQoL did not differ significantly across tooth-wear categories, although an exploratory association with worsening taste perception was observed.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Scientific Reports, 2026 · DOI ↗

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