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Dental Erosion and Treatment
Research Guide
What is Dental Erosion and Treatment?
Dental erosion is the progressive loss of tooth structure due to chemical dissolution by acids from dietary sources or intrinsic factors, often treated through preventive measures like fluoride therapy, saliva protection strategies, and restorative approaches such as adhesive bonding to enamel and dentin.
Research on dental erosion and treatment encompasses 38,845 papers addressing erosive tooth wear, enamel microhardness, dentine hypersensitivity, and interventions including bleaching agents, hydrogen peroxide effects, and acidic beverage impacts. Matrix metalloproteinases degrade exposed dentin organic matrix in erosion, prompting dentin degradomics studies (Tjäderhane et al. (2015)). Adhesion to eroded tooth substrates remains challenging, with self-etch and etch-and-rinse approaches analyzed for durability (De Munck et al. (2005); Van Meerbeek et al. (2004)).
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Dental Erosion
This sub-topic studies the chemical dissolution of dental hard tissues by acids from dietary or intrinsic sources, including prevalence and risk assessment. Researchers examine histopathological changes, diagnostic methods, and epidemiological patterns.
Erosive Tooth Wear
This sub-topic focuses on the progressive loss of tooth structure due to erosion, attrition, and abrasion, with emphasis on clinical management and monitoring. Researchers investigate progression models, patient-specific factors, and long-term outcomes.
Tooth Whitening
This sub-topic explores bleaching agents, techniques, and materials for vital and non-vital teeth whitening, including safety and efficacy trials. Researchers assess color stability, side effects, and combinations with other treatments.
Dentine Hypersensitivity
This sub-topic investigates the etiology, neural mechanisms, and therapeutic desensitization strategies for pain in exposed dentine. Researchers evaluate tubule occlusion agents, clinical trials, and associations with erosion.
Enamel Microhardness
This sub-topic examines methods to measure and factors affecting enamel surface hardness, particularly demineralization from erosive challenges. Researchers develop in vitro/in vivo testing protocols and remineralization interventions.
Why It Matters
Dental erosion contributes to erosive tooth wear, exposing dentin prone to hydrolytic degradation by host enzymes, which affects restorative treatments using adhesive composites (Tjäderhane et al. (2015) showed dentin organic matrix degradation in erosion). In clinical practice, stable adhesion to enamel and dentin enables durable restorations; De Munck et al. (2005) reviewed methods where some adhesives maintain bond strengths long-term, reducing failure rates in erosion-affected teeth. Van Meerbeek et al. (2004) demonstrated ultramorphological bonding mechanisms for etch-and-rinse, self-etch, and glass-ionomer approaches, supporting treatments for acid-exposed surfaces from beverages. These advances improve outcomes in dentistry by enhancing restoration longevity amid rising erosion prevalence linked to acidic diets.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"Matrix Metalloproteinases and Other Matrix Proteinases in Relation to Cariology: The Era of ‘Dentin Degradomics'" by Tjäderhane et al. (2015), as it directly explains dentin degradation central to erosion pathology and treatment challenges, with clear ties to host enzymes and restorative contexts.
Key Papers Explained
Tjäderhane et al. (2015) "Matrix Metalloproteinases and Other Matrix Proteinases in Relation to Cariology: The Era of ‘Dentin Degradomics'" establishes dentin degradomics in erosion, which De Munck et al. (2005) "A Critical Review of the Durability of Adhesion to Tooth Tissue: Methods and Results" builds on by assessing adhesive stability to such degraded substrates. Van Meerbeek et al. (2004) "Buonocore memorial lecture. Adhesion to enamel and dentin: current status and future challenges." provides bonding mechanisms underpinning these durability tests. Breschi et al. (2007) "Dental adhesion review: Aging and stability of the bonded interface" and Ferracane (2005) "Hygroscopic and hydrolytic effects in dental polymer networks" extend analysis to interface aging and polymer effects in erosion restorations. Nakabayashi et al. (1982) "The promotion of adhesion by the infiltration of monomers into tooth substrates" offers foundational monomer infiltration insights.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Current research emphasizes dentin degradomics and adhesion durability, with no recent preprints available; focus persists on matrix metalloproteinase roles in erosion and long-term bonded interface stability as analyzed in top-cited works.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dental caries | 2007 | The Lancet | 2.5K | ✕ |
| 2 | Matrix Metalloproteinases and Other Matrix Proteinases in Rela... | 2015 | Caries Research | 2.3K | ✓ |
| 3 | Resin composite—State of the art | 2010 | Dental Materials | 2.0K | ✕ |
| 4 | A Critical Review of the Durability of Adhesion to Tooth Tissu... | 2005 | Journal of Dental Rese... | 1.9K | ✕ |
| 5 | Buonocore memorial lecture. Adhesion to enamel and dentin: cur... | 2004 | PubMed | 1.7K | ✕ |
| 6 | Dental caries | 2017 | Nature Reviews Disease... | 1.6K | ✓ |
| 7 | The promotion of adhesion by the infiltration of monomers into... | 1982 | Journal of Biomedical ... | 1.5K | ✕ |
| 8 | Hygroscopic and hydrolytic effects in dental polymer networks | 2005 | Dental Materials | 1.4K | ✕ |
| 9 | Thermal cycling procedures for laboratory testing of dental re... | 1999 | Journal of Dentistry | 1.4K | ✕ |
| 10 | Dental adhesion review: Aging and stability of the bonded inte... | 2007 | Dental Materials | 1.2K | ✕ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes dentin degradation in dental erosion?
Dentin organic matrix, primarily type I collagen, becomes exposed after demineralization in erosion and undergoes hydrolytic degradation by host collagenolytic enzymes, including matrix metalloproteinases. Tjäderhane et al. (2015) in "Matrix Metalloproteinases and Other Matrix Proteinases in Relation to Cariology: The Era of ‘Dentin Degradomics'" describe this process occurring in dentinal caries, erosion, or acidic conditioning during restorative treatment.
How do adhesives bond to eroded tooth tissues?
Bonding to enamel and dentin uses etch-and-rinse, self-etch, or glass-ionomer approaches, with ultramorphological and chemical characterization revealing infiltration of monomers into substrates. Van Meerbeek et al. (2004) in "Buonocore memorial lecture. Adhesion to enamel and dentin: current status and future challenges." detail these mechanisms at tooth-biomaterial interfaces. De Munck et al. (2005) in "A Critical Review of the Durability of Adhesion to Tooth Tissue: Methods and Results" note immediate effectiveness but variable long-term stability.
What factors affect long-term adhesion durability in dental erosion treatment?
Adhesive bond strengths to tooth tissues decline over time due to hydrolytic and hygroscopic effects, though some formulations remain stable. Breschi et al. (2007) in "Dental adhesion review: Aging and stability of the bonded interface" examine interface stability. Ferracane (2005) in "Hygroscopic and hydrolytic effects in dental polymer networks" analyzes polymer network degradation impacting restorations on eroded teeth.
What role does monomer infiltration play in erosion treatment?
Monomer infiltration into etched dentin and enamel promotes adhesion, enhanced by agents like 4-META after citric acid-ferric chloride etching. Nakabayashi et al. (1982) in "The promotion of adhesion by the infiltration of monomers into tooth substrates" demonstrated effectiveness for acrylic adhesion on tooth substrates. This approach hybridizes tooth structure with resin, aiding restorations in erosion cases.
How is dental erosion related to caries research?
Dental erosion shares demineralization mechanisms with caries, involving biofilm-mediated sugar-driven processes and hard tissue loss. Pitts et al. (2017) in "Dental caries" describe phasic demineralization-remineralization applicable to erosion. Selwitz et al. (2007) in "Dental caries" provide foundational insights into related tooth structure losses.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors fully prevent dentin matrix degradation in erosive tooth wear?
- ? Which adhesive strategies best maintain long-term bond durability on acid-eroded enamel and dentin?
- ? What specific hydrolytic effects dominate polymer network failure in restorations for dental erosion?
- ? How do thermal cycling conditions accurately simulate clinical erosion treatment stresses?
- ? What ultramorphological changes occur at bonded interfaces during aging in erosion-affected teeth?
Recent Trends
The field maintains steady output at 38,845 papers with no specified 5-year growth rate; foundational works like Tjäderhane et al. (2307 citations) and De Munck et al. (2005) (1928 citations) continue dominating citations, indicating sustained focus on dentin degradation and adhesion durability without new preprints or news in the last 12 months.
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