Tooth surface loss: causes, management and prevention.

OBJECTIVES: Tooth wear (TW), also referred to as tooth surface loss (TSL), occurs due to causes other than caries. This involves the loss of hard tissues, namely enamel, dentin and/or cementum. Types of TW/TSL are abrasion, abfraction, attrition and erosion. These multifactorial conditions can be caused things such as lifestyle, diet or even habits and may not be symptomatic. The focus of this article is to provide clinicians with detailed examples and explanations of the causes of tooth loss to aid in early diagnosis. Through early identification, the preventive measures outlined can be implemented to avoid excessive TW. The provision of a treatment flowchart and general treatment recommendations aims to help clinicians determine when to restore these lesions and the most appropriate treatment measures for the 4 types of wear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The PubMed (MEDLINE) search engine was used to gather information on TW restricted to a five-year period (26 August 2018 - 25 July 2022). Only English-language studies and reviews with the best balance of sensitivity and specificity were considered. A Boolean search of the PubMed dataset was implemented to combine a range of keywords: ("tooth wear" OR tooth attrition OR tooth erosion OR tooth abrasion OR tooth abfraction). Additional articles were also selected through Google Scholar.

RESULTS: By this process, many articles and studies were obtained, and the 48 most relevant published studies were chosen and used in the current review. The selected articles are in the reference list.

CONCLUSION: TW affects an increasing number of individuals and can have detrimental effects physically, mentally and emotionally. It is important to stress early diagnosis and management of tooth wear through monitoring, prevention and treatment where indicated.