In vivo Measurements of Tooth Wear over 12 Months

The aim of this study was to measure the progression of tooth wear in a cohort of 63 patients, 43 males and 20 females with a mean age of 39.1 years. Recruitment followed referral from general practice to Guy’s Hospital for advice/management of tooth wear. Addition silicone impressions were taken at 6-month intervals for a total of 12 months; impressions were subsequently poured in type IV gypsum. Casts were scanned using a non-contacting laser profilometer and then superimposed using Geomagic® Qualify 11. Wear was measured in µm by tooth per time interval. A questionnaire highlighting dietary, parafunctional and gastric risk factors was obtained from each participant. Clustered multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between tooth wear progression and risk factors. Maximum follow-up times were 6 months for 63 participants and 12 months for 30 participants. The measurement error was 15 µm. At the tooth level, 72.2% of 1,078 teeth wore