Article:

In modern society, dentinal erosion has become one of the major causes of the loss of mineralized tooth structure. Several surveys have pointed out a high and still increasing prevalence, especially among young individuals (eg, 37% of 14-year-olds in the United Kingdom present signs of palatal enamel erosion). While the presence of dentinal caries normally leads clinicians to take action immediately, in the case of dental erosion, many clinicians prefer to postpone any dental treatment until the patient is older, even though literature confrims that direct clinical observation is an unreliable method for monitoring the rates of tooth wear.The aim of this articel is to convince clinicians that in the specific case of dental erosion, hesitation in under-taking the adequate treatment will inevitably lead to further degradation of the patients dentition.