Quantification of tooth wear: conventional vs new method using toolmakers microscope and a three-dimensional...

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Digital Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry

Background:

• Incisal tooth wear is a growing concern in dentistry.
• Accurate quantification of tooth wear is crucial for diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Conventional methods for assessing tooth wear have limitations in sensitivity and accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability of a new CAD-CAM laser scanning system for detecting incisal tooth wear over a six-month period.
• To compare the accuracy of this new system against a toolmaker microscope and a conventional tooth wear index.

Main Methods:

• Twenty participants with incisal tooth wear were assessed at baseline and after six months.
• Stone dies of lower anterior teeth were created and scanned using the CAD-CAM Laser Cercon System.
• Tooth wear was quantified by examining scanned images under a toolmaker microscope and by directly assessing the stone dies under the microscope.

Main Results:

• The CAD-CAM laser scanner detected wear progression over the six-month period.
• Direct measurement of stone dies under a toolmaker microscope yielded significantly higher wear values compared to the CAD-CAM system's digital images.
• Both methods showed significant differences between the two assessment occasions.

Conclusions:

• The CAD-CAM digital machine images, when analyzed with a toolmaker microscope, can detect wear progression.
• Direct microscopic assessment of stone dies offers more accurate quantification of tooth wear progression.
• The conventional tooth wear index was the least sensitive method for detecting wear progression.