Bruxism: Diagnosing Types of Tooth Wear

Bruxism: Diagnosing Types of Tooth Wear is organized by Dentaltown, L.L.C.

Released: 3/12/2014
Expiration Date: 6/30/2025

Overview:
Wear is a common problem we see in our practices. Deciding how to help our patients preserve their tooth structure and dental health depends on the cause of the wear. At the top of the list are attrition, caused by rubbing the teeth together and erosion where the teeth dissolve due to the presence of acid. Additionally we can see tooth wear from abrasion, caused by abrasive toothpastes and other oral hygiene products and abfraction, which is a loss of cervical tooth structure due to occlusal forces.

This program will describe the different clinical presentations that differentiate between the types of tooth wear. Determining which tooth surfaces are losing mass and showing signs of wear is a key first step to knowing the cause. Erosive patterns can occur on any tooth surfaces whether the patient can occlude there or not. Often these patterns are unique to the cause of the acid helping differentiate between GERD, Bulimia or Citrus Mulling. Attrition displays wear facets that are flat in character with the enamel and dentin being level, unlike erosion where the dentin disappears in depressions.

Educational Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to achieve the following:
• Describe the clinical presentation of attrition
• Describe the clinical presentation of erosion
• Understand the common causes of abrasion
• Differentiate the cause of tooth wear
• Make recommendations to patients to manage the types of wear

1.5 CE Credits