Dental erosion, summary.

Although reports on dental erosion have always appeared in the dental literature, there is currently a growing interest among researchers and clinicians. Potential risk factors for dental erosion are changed lifestyle and eating patterns, with increased consumption of acidic foods and beverages. Various gastrointestinal and eating disorders expose the dentition to frequent contacts with very acidic gastric content, which may lead to erosion. Whether these factors indeed lead, on a population scale, to a higher prevalence and incidence of erosion is yet to be established. This article summarizes the different aspects of the prevalence, pathology, etiology, assessment, prevention and treatment of dental erosion, and concludes with recommendations for future research.