3D tooth wear assessment in dentistry and orthodontics

Tooth wear is the loss of tooth substance during everyday functioning by means other than dental caries. It is expected at a certain level in every person, and it increases with age. In the last decades, due to increased life expectancy and high patient demands, it has become an important problem modern dentistry has to face. Early diagnosis is imperative for the timely management of tooth wear, to avoid subsequent esthetic and functional problems. However, the conventional clinically applicable diagnostic tools involve qualitative assessments by using indices, and thus, are subjective and lack precision. In contrast, 3D quantitative methods on dental models are more objective and can be highly accurate, detecting even minor tooth wear amounts. The present thesis developed accurate, clinically applicable 3D tooth wear assessment methods, through the superimposition of serial 3D digital dental models. These methods were applied to assess tooth wear progression in a treated orthodontic patient population over a thirteen-year period, from adolescence to adulthood. The study revealed the very high tooth wear occurrence in the population, already at early adulthood. The findings emphasize the importance of wear monitoring at an individual level to enable the better understanding of the problem and allow timely targeted interventions for patients in need, aiming to stop wear progress and improve esthetics and function.