AIM: To develop a reproducible method for the assessment of tooth wear in vivo using a laser profilometer. DESIGN: A controlled study to measure tooth wear. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Wear was measured over a 6-month period in 13 patients with unexplained palatal dental erosion and compared with a group of 7 controls without any evidence of abnormal wear. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Metal disks were cemented to the tooth surface and impressions taken at 6-month intervals. Wear was estimated by scanning the impressions with a contacting laser profilometer and measuring a change in depth around the disk over a 6-month period using fixed reference points on the metal disks. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was observed between patients with palatal erosion and the controls. Patients with erosion had a median of 36.5 microns of wear over 6 months (range 17.6-108.2) and the controls had a median of 3.7 microns (range 0.5-15.8). CONCLUSIONS: This paper presents a novel method for measuring erosion using fixed reference points cemented to the palatal surfaces of upper incisor teeth.
AIM: To develop a reproducible method for the assessment of tooth wear in vivo using a laser profilometer. DESIGN: A controlled study to measure tooth wear. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Wear was measured over a 6-month period in 13 patients with unexplained palatal dental erosion and compared with a group of 7 controls without any evidence of abnormal wear. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Metal disks were cemented to the tooth surface and impressions taken at 6-month intervals. Wear was estimated by scanning the impressions with a contacting laser profilometer and measuring a change in depth around the disk over a 6-month period using fixed reference points on the metal disks. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was observed between patients with palatal erosion and the controls. Patients with erosion had a median of 36.5 microns of wear over 6 months (range 17.6-108.2) and the controls had a median of 3.7 microns (range 0.5-15.8). CONCLUSIONS: This paper presents a novel method for measuring erosion using fixed reference points cemented to the palatal surfaces of upper incisor teeth.
Authors: Ekaterina Rakhmatullina; Anke Bossen; Christoph Höschele; Xiaojie Wang; Barbara Beyeler; Christoph Meier; Adrian Lussi Journal: J Biomed Opt Date: 2011-10 Impact factor: 3.170
Authors: Clive H Wilder-Smith; Petra Wilder-Smith; Hilari Kawakami-Wong; Julia Voronets; Kathy Osann; Adrian Lussi Journal: Am J Gastroenterol Date: 2009-08-04 Impact factor: 10.864