Restoration of the worn dentition

Abstract

Prevention of excessive tooth wear should form the basis of any ongoing lifelong dental management. In some situations, however, it may also become necessary to consider interventive restorative treatment in order to protect vulnerable tooth surfaces and re-establish satisfactory appearance and function. A wide range of treatment options currently exist when considering the restoration of the worn dentition ranging from the more conventional fixed and removable prosthodontic approach to some of the newer, less invasive and minimal preparation adhesive techniques. This chapter illustrates and discusses the treatment options now available to the dental surgeon when restoring the worn dentition. While a number of the minimal preparation adhesive methods would appear to offer significant advantages over more traditional measures, only time and careful clinical evaluation will dictate if these become the accepted treatment patterns of tomorrow.