The Dental Wear Patient, Diagnosis, and Treatment

The severe wear patient has multiple etiologies. We want to know and understand the cause of the wear and how to tailor our restorative efforts to the patient’s needs.

Initial examination of a new patient occasionally reveals a severely worn dentition characterized by extensive wear and loss of tooth structure. Function and esthetics are compromised, and the prognosis for one or several teeth may be jeopardized if the problem is not corrected. The complex nature of this condition, and its multifactorial etiology, often overwhelms the restorative dentist in treating such widespread tooth destruction.

Loss of tooth structure may be a result of mechanical wear (attrition, abrasion) or chemical attack (erosion). We will review the various etiologies and the risks associated with each when we try to reconstruct the patient. A brief review of dental occlusion will be included as a point of orientation.

We will review the new materials on the market for restoring these patients. The use of zirconia or lithium disilicate will be reviewed. We will discuss material properties and how best to use them for the dental wear patient. Concentration on full mouth reconstruction cases.

This program is a clinically orientated program reviewing over 30 years of cases and follow-up documented by Dr. Hansen.