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@Arducius
I'm no physicist, but I imagine in most cases there are only a few of the teeth on the sprocket putting any real force into the chain. Imagine a chain pulling on the sprocket; the first tooth will take the strain and any later teeth are just guiding the chain around, then the next tooth engages with the chain, taking the tension off the first one.
Obviously as chainrings and chains aren't exactly perfectly sized there must be some strain taken by other teeth...
But, as a larger chainring (more teeth) means each tooth is further away from the pivot point, then the force required to turn the wheel is less as the leverage is greater. So less force, less wear, presumably.
So, in conclusion yes but not for the reason you propose.
waits for someone who knows what they are talking about to come and prove me completely wrong