2018 Volume 39 Issue 2 Pages 168-173
Erosive tooth wear is often observed in patients with severe disabilities, and detachment of filling material, hypersensitivity to dentin and dental caries may occur. The purpose of this study was to investigate, by questionnaire and intraoral findings, patients diagnosed with erosive tooth wear among those visiting our dental clinic.
Twenty-one patients（18 males, 3 females, average age 37.9±5.9 years）were diagnosed as having erosive tooth wear, 4.6％ of the total. By disability, 13（61.9％；10.8％ of the total）were autistic and 8（38.1％；3.3％ of the total）had intellectual disabilities. Most of them were severely disabled. Detachment of filling material was observed in 7 patients（33.3％）and dental caries in 6 patients（28.6％）. Regarding preference for drinks, many patients liked cola, coffee, and juice, and 17 patients（81.0％）had behavioral problems such as self-injury and other forms of harm.
In this study, erosive tooth wear was observed in the patients with autism and intellectual disabilities. These patients had ruminant habits and behavioral behaviors, and preferred acidic drinks such as cola and juice, so the endogenous and extrinsic causes were considered.
