Aim: To assess the distribution and severity of tooth wear among children of Andhra Pradesh state, India.

Study design: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted by trained and calibrated examiner.

Methods: A two stage random sample of 384 children with the age of 12 years were examined for tooth wear using Smith and Knight tooth wear index (1984). Descriptive statistics were applied to the data.

Results: Prevalence of tooth wear amounted to 39.06%. The highest frequency of score 1 and 2 was found for maxillary right central incisors (49.5% and 12.7% respectively). No tooth surfaces had score 3 and 4. Occlusal/incisal surfaces were most commonly affected with tooth wear followed by cervical, lingual surfaces. It also shows that occlusal surfaces of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth were more commonly affected than the posterior teeth. No tooth wear on the lingual surfaces of posterior teeth of both the arches.

Conclusion: Tooth wear remains a common finding in study population. Furthermore, the question of whether tooth wear is a public health problem remains open for debate.