Risk Assessment for Tooth Wear

Intraoral Scanning for Monitoring Dental Wear and Its Risk Factors: A Prospective Study

Dental wear arises from mechanical (attrition or abrasion) and chemical (erosion) factors. Despite its prevalence and clinical significance, accurately measuring and understanding its causes remain challenging in everyday practice. This one-year study with 39 participants involved comprehensive examinations and full-arch intraoral scans at the start and after 12 months. Volume loss exceeding 100 µ on each tooth's surfaces (buccal, lingual/palatine and incisal/occlusal) was measured by comparing three-dimensional scans from both time points. This study also assessed factors such as abrasion and erosion through clinical exams and questionnaires. There were no significant differences in dental wear in participants with sleep bruxism. However, noticeable wear occurred in the front teeth of those with waking bruxism and joint-related symptoms. Increased wear was associated with frequent consumption of acidic drinks, regular swimming, dry mouth, nocturnal drooling and heartburn, while no significant wear was found in patients with reflux. The used methodology proved effective in accurately assessing the progression of dental wear, which is important as many patients may initially be asymptomatic. The variability observed in dental wear patterns underscores the need to develop specific software applications that allow immediate and efficient comparison of wear areas based on extensive analysis of patient databases.

Sleep Bruxism in Children—What Can Be Learned from Anamnestic Information

Sleep bruxism (SB) is a masticatory muscle activity during sleep, and its clinical manifestation in young children is still unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of anamnestic information in predicting possible SB in children aged 4–12 years. In a cross-sectional retrospective exploratory study, the dental files of 521 children were examined with regard to the following anamnestic information: gender, age, medical conditions associated with ear, nose, and throat (ENT), respiratory disorders, use of methylphenidate (Ritalin), oral habits, and bruxing during sleep. A child was defined as presenting possible SB when a positive report was received from parents regarding such behavior (SB positive, No. = 84). There were no age- and/or gender-wise differences between SB-positive children and children whose parents did not report SB behavior (SB negative). SB-positive children suffered more from ENT and respiratory disorders than children without SB. Additionally, the use of pacifiers/finger sucking, as well as snoring, were more common among SB-positive children as compared to their SB-negative counterparts (Chi-square). The variables which were found to significantly increase the odds of possible SB in children were mouth breathing, ENT problems, and use of a pacifier or finger sucking (forward stepwise logistic regression). Clinicians should look for clinical signs of possible SB in children whose anamnesis reveals one or more of these anamnestic signals.

Tooth wear and socioeconomic status in childhood and adulthood: Findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the association and level of evidence between socioeconomic status (SES) and tooth wear (TW) in children, adolescents, and adults.

DATA

Eligibility criteria comprised population-based observational studies assessing the association between SES and TW in permanent dentition of adolescents and adults. Interventional and descriptive studies or those without an internal comparison between exposed and nonexposed groups were excluded. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were applied where applicable. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Meta-analyses were conducted to estimate the pooled effect measures. Q-statistic, I²statistic, subgroup and sensitivity analyses assessed study heterogeneity.

SOURCES

PubMed/Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, SciELO, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were searched for articles published in English between 1st January 1980 and 31st March 2021.

RESULTS

Sixty-five studies were included, involving 63,893 participants in over 30 countries. A positive association was found between TW and education (OR=1.25 [0.96; 1.62]), family income (OR=1.18 [0.91; 1.53]), and private school (OR= 1.24 [0.90; 1.72]) among adolescents. Higher educated adults had a lower risk for TW (OR=0.70 [0.52; 0.93]). Most included studies had a moderate RoB. Limitations relating to population representation and assessment methodologies were identified in the included studies.

CONCLUSIONS

SES was associated with TW with its direction depending on the individuals' age. The overall quality of evidence was moderate.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANC

SES should be included as part of the routine screening and risk assessment for tooth wear.

Objective assessment of simulated non-carious cervical lesion by tridimensional digital scanning

OBJECTIVE

To explore the use of 3D intraoral scanner/image analysis for the detection and monitoring of simulated non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) in vitro.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 288 NCCLs of different severities and simulated using a laboratorial model associating toothbrush stiffness (soft, medium, and hard) and toothpaste abrasivity (low, medium, high, and negative control) were analyzed. Dental impressions were taken from specimens before and after 35K and 65K brushing strokes, and then scanned with a CEREC Omnicam scanner. 3D models were analyzed for volumetric tooth loss. 3D optical profilometry was considered as the gold standard. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Fisher's PLSD tests (alpha = 0.05), and agreement between methods by using intraclass correlation coefficient.

RESULTS

Toothbrushes of hard and mid stiffness caused higher tooth loss than soft when associated with the highest abrasive, at 35K and 65K strokes (p < 0.001). Variation in slurry abrasivity led to differences in tooth loss (with control < low < medium < high, p < 0.0001) after both 35K and 65K strokes, regardless of the type of toothbrush used, except at 35K, wherein control = low (p = 0.55). 35K strokes caused less tooth loss than 65K for all abrasive slurries (p < 0.0001) except controls. The intraclass correlation coefficient for agreement between the test and gold standard methods was 0.85.

CONCLUSIONS

Analysis of 3D images from intraoral scanner could detect and monitor NCCL progression, although this ability was limited on incipient lesions. Overall good agreement was found between the test method and optical profilometry.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The suggested method may be applicable to detect and monitor NCCLs clinically.

The Prevalence and Severity of Tooth Wear in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Objective

To assess the prevalence and severity of tooth wear in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods

Attendees at a diabetic clinic at Wiang Pa Pao Hospital in Chiang Rai province, Thailand, were invited to take part in this cross-sectional study. All participants were aged 35–74 and had type 2 diabetes. Participants were required to have been diagnosed with diabetes for at least three months. 179 subjects accepted a clinical oral examination and completed the questionnaire. Tooth wear was assessed clinically using the Smith and Knight Tooth Wear Index.

Results

The mean age of diabetic patients was 56.5 ± 7.8 years. The majority (44.1%) had diabetes more than 5 years. The average years of having had diabetes was 6.5 ± 6.3 years. The most prevalent type of tooth wear was attrition (99.4%). The prevalence of erosion, abrasion, and abfraction were 64.8%, 31.3%, and 7.3%, respectively. The majority of the tooth wear was moderate to high severity (62.1%). Erosion and abfraction showed significant association with age group (p < 0.05). Age group was significantly associated with the severity level (p=0.017). Mild tooth wear severity was the highest in age groups 35–44 and 45–54 (53.8% and 41.2%, respectively). Moderate tooth wear was the highest proportion in age groups 55–65 and 65–74 (52.2% and 44.0%, respectively). There were no significant differences between specific diabetic symptoms and types of tooth wear.

Conclusion

There was a high prevalence of tooth wear among diabetic patients. The role of prevention is vital in maintaining the integrity of the teeth and to avoid treating these worn teeth in diabetic patients.

Association of dietary habits and parental-reported sleep tooth grinding with tooth wear in children with mixed dentition

BACKGROUND

Tooth wear has a multifactorial etiology, thus it should be assessed within a multiple-variable framework. The objective of this investigation was to assess the association of dietary habits and parental-reported sleep tooth grinding (STG) with tooth wear in children with mixed dentition.

METHODS

One hundred twenty-one (N = 121) subjects (mean age 9.6 years) participated in a cross-sectional study. Wear of 1637 teeth was evaluated using the screening module of the Tooth Wear Evaluation System (TWES). Parental-report of STG was evaluated by means of the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), whilst dietary habits were investigated by means of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Food-Frequency Questionnaire (HBSC-FFQ). Data were analyzed with the Spearman correlation test and ordinal-multiple-variable regression analyses. Odds Ratio (OR) and ordinal OR were obtained for the independent variables included in the models.

RESULTS

Parental-report of STG is not associated with tooth wear in the mixed dentition; some dietary habits were found to be correlated with specific tooth wear patterns, but the correlation values were weak. Associations were found between dietary habits and the increase-to-increase severity of occlusal/incisal and non-occlusal/non-incisal tooth wear of some teeth (OR > 2).

CONCLUSIONS

A strong correlation of dietary habits and sleep tooth grinding with tooth wear in the mixed dentition was not demonstrated. However, dietary habits showed to have effects in terms of increase-to-increase severity.