Clinical Skills Flashcards
Describe how to diagnose tooth wear?
History
Examination
Special tests
Name the 4 types of tooth surface loss?
Erosion
Abrasion
Attrition
(Abfraction)
What are the useful questions to take during the history to get an idea about tooth surface loss
- When did you first notice it?
- Are the teeth sensitive – if so, when and with what?
- Have the teeth changed colour?
- Have you chipped bits from the teeth
Medical history
Diet history - general overview, vegetarian, drinks, fruits etc - Are you aware of grinding or clenching your teeth?
- Do you ever wake up with soreness tenderness over your cheeks and lower jaw?
- Can you chew alright?
What to assess on an E/O exam?
Symmetry
Centre-line
Lip line – smiling and at rest
What to assess on an I/O exam?
Soft tissues, plaque control, gingival condition, BPE
The teeth - missing teeth, degree of previous restoration, types and size of restorations, occlusal relationships
Name 3 special tests for tooth surfce loss?
Diet Diary – 3 days duration
Referral to General Medical Practitioner – with specific questions
Use of study casts
- easier to observe wear on dry stone casts
- may be useful as base-line record
What are the management techniques for tooth surface loss?
Prevention and monitoring
Restoration of tooth or teeth
Replacement of missing teeth
Name the managament techniques for erosion?
Remove or control the erosive source
Control symptoms
Increase resistance to dissolution
Base-line records and monitoring
Restoration
Extraction
What treatment can be used for the management of pain and sensitivity?
Sensodyne – potassium nitrate – induces high mineral content
- Stannous fluoride – blocks dental tubules
Tooth Mousse – Amorphous calcium phosphate
- unfilled resin – forms resin plugs in tubules
How to decide whether to monitor or to restore?
For certain types of wear, restorations may be protective
The restoration m ust be present in sufficient bulk to prevent its mechanical failure
Restorations that remove tooth structure are less desirable but may be necessary
Characterisitics of acid erosion of teeth?
Wear of incisal edges - jagged incisal edge
Cupping of the occlusal surface
What is the definition of erosion?
The progressive loss of tooth substance by chemical processes that do not involve bacterial action
What is the defintiion of perimolysis?
acidic erosion of the teeth as result of chronic acid regurgitation
What is the defintion of abrasion?
An abnormal wearing away of the tooth substance by causes other than mastication
What is the definition of abfraction
The pathologic loss of hard tooth substance caused by biomechanical loading forces. Such loss is thought to be due to flexure and chemical fatigue degradation of enamel and/or dentine at some location distant from the actual point of loading
What is the definition of attricion?
The mechanical wear resulting from mastication or parafunction, limited to contacting surfaces of the teeth
Describe te abrasiveness of dental materials from greatest to least?
Unglazed porcelain
Glazed porcelain
Cast chrome-cobalt
Cast nickel-chrome
Cast gold
Composite resin
Glass ionomer cement
Acrylic resin
Tooth wear in primary dentition?
Is a frequently observed phenomenon particularly as the teeth become close to exfoliation