Abrasion, erosion, and abfraction combined with linear enamel hypoplasia: a case report

Linear enamel hypoplasia is a developmental disturbance of enamel resulting in clinically visible horizontal defects in enamel that are present on eruption of the tooth. Nondevelopmental lesions of the hard tissues of the tooth, including carious, abrasion, erosion, attrition, and abfraction lesions, require varying amounts of time after tooth eruption to develop. Because linear enamel hypoplasia lesions are present on eruption and are exposed to the factors responsible for abrasion, erosion, and abfraction, nondevelopmental lesions could occur within them in any combination. This report describes a patient with multiple teeth with linear enamel hypoplasia lesions containing nondevelopmental defects as well as nondevelopmental defects that occurred separately. Severe pain and a unique lesion morphology were associated with the linear enamel hypoplasia defects. Affected teeth were extracted because of advanced periodontitis and were sectioned to determine the nature of the enamel and dentin lesions.