Epidemiology of Erosive Tooth Wear, Dental Fluorosis and Molar Incisor Hypomineralization in the American Continent

Non-carious dental lesions such as developmental defects of enamel (DDE) and erosive tooth wear (ETW) are the subject of intensive research. This paper aims to give perspectives on both DDE, including dental fluorosis and molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH), and ETW, presenting epidemiological data from the Americas and associated diagnostic aspects. Besides, it is important to present evidence to guide the clinical assessment process, supporting the clinicians ’ management decisions towards better oral health of their patients. The overall increase in the worldwide prevalence of non-carious lesions discussed in this this paper may reflect the need of perceptual changes. Although the number of publications related to these conditions has been increasing in the last years, there is still a need for clinical diagnostic and management awareness to include these conditions in routine dental practice. Besides, it is important to provide recommendations for standardized clinical assessment criteria, improving the process and helping clinicians’ adheren ce. In this sense, this paper discusses the most commonly implemented indices for each condition. Thus, despite the wide range of diagnostic indices, BEWE is proposed to be the index recommended for ETW assessment, Dean or Thylstrup amp; Fejerskov indices for fluorosis and preferably the EAPD criter ia (or modified DDE index) for MIH. Overall, non-carious lesions are a growing concern, and it is important to implement preventi...

Source: Caries Research - January 13, 2021 Category: Dentistry Source Type: research