Dentistry >>>> Tooth erosion

Tooth erosion.

Tooth erosion is damage to the surface layers of the tooth (enamel and the upper layer of dentin) with the formation of imperfections in enamel and dentin, mainly on the vestibular surface of the teeth (the surface facing the lip or cheek). As a rule, erosion affects symmetrically located teeth (incisors, canines, premolars), changing the color of the enamel, causing hyperesthesia (increased sensitivity) and leads to a cosmetic defect in the visible surface of the teeth.

With erosion, dental tissue (enamel and dentin) decreases, the process is delayed for ten to fifteen years. The reasons for the development of tooth erosion lie in endocrine disorders or can be caused by harmful conditions leading to mechanical or chemical damage to the tooth tissues (for example, often using bleaching agents or hard brushes to clean teeth). Chemical effects on the tooth tissue can be caused by diseases that provoke the release of acid from the stomach (gastroesophageal disease), taking medications, the chemical composition of which is detrimental to the tooth tissue (for example, ascorbic acid). Dysfunction of the thyroid gland (hyperfunction), which causes endocrine disruptions, changes the composition of dental tissues.

Erosion of the tooth can have several degrees of depth of tissue damage: superficial (upper enamel layer), medium depth (damage to the entire enamel layer), deep (damage to the entire enamel layer and the upper layer of dentin).

Signs of the development of tooth erosion:

Loss of tooth shine on the vestibular surface,
The defect is bowl-shaped,
The color of the tooth changes as the defect deepens (shades of yellow or brown),
With an average depth of the lesion, sensitivity to thermal and chemical stimuli develops,
The disease progresses to the adjacent teeth.

Tooth erosion treatment has several directions: