What is erosion?
Erosion is a chemical process where acids in the mouth will dissolve the enamel surface. This acid can come from the stomach, from sucking on citrus fruits such as lemons, or from carbonated beverages. Damage from stomach acid will tend to erode the back side (lingual) of the teeth. Lemon sucking will dissolve the edges of the front teeth. And carbonated beverages tend to erode at the neck of the teeth (cervical) at the level of the gums. Although cervical erosion can be repaired with tooth colored fillings, too much damage on the incisal edges leaves only the brittle enamel on the edges making them very susceptible to chipping. The only solution to repair this problem is with full coverage with porcelain crowns (caps). This will improve the smile immensely and will protect the teeth from further erosion. Erosion Case #1 Erosion Case #2 What is abrasion? Abrasion is any type of mechanically induced loss of tooth structure.
Erosion is the process by which soil particles are displaced. Typically erosion is caused by water, but there are other types caused by wind and gravity. Erosion is accelerated when water is moving fast and when there is a large volume of water washing over the soil. Erosion strips the soil of nutrient rich topsoil and deposits it in other areas that may not be suitable like creeks and roads. In fact, sediment (displaced soil) can be extremely detrimental to aquatic habitats. What can be done to slow down erosion? We can’t avoid rain storms, but we can reduce the erosion they cause. There are some fundamental concepts that, when used effectively, can almost eliminate erosion. The key to stopping erosion is to anchor the soil in place and to slow down the water moving across it. • The best way to hold the soil in place is to plant vegetation in the soil. Establishing a ground cover has many benefits besides controlling erosion. Grass, shrubs and trees are all effective ground covers. •
Erosion refers to the gradual transport of materials around the Earth’s surface. Since erosion always travels in a down-slope direction, it can result in the wearing away of natural features. Erosion is one of the most important processes shaping the Earth’s surface. In fact, if the Earth was tectonically stagnant, the forces of erosion would eventually smooth out the entire surface of the Earth, creating a global ocean. Many people think of poor land use practices when they visualize erosion, since some startling images of erosion caused by deforestation and overgrazing have been well circulated. However, erosion is also a natural process, and an important one, since it moves nutrients around and shapes hospitable places on earth for plants and animals alike. The process of erosion is paired with deposition, the buildup of rocks and sediment in new configurations. Several different processes are involved in natural erosion. Weathering, transportation, and dissolution are three of the
Dental erosion (chemical dissolution of teeth through non-bacterial processes), mediated through endogenous (gastric) or exogenous (dietry) acid, is commonly observed superimposed, and in part, jointly contributing to breakdown through it’s ability to soften and weaken dental hard tissues as well as selectively favour decay causing bacteria resulting in aggravated wear rates, differential loading patterns and “erosive caries”. When coupled with dry mouth and / or clenching and grinding, the outcome for teeth can be disastrous, demanding a multi-disciplinary approach. In many patients, I have found erosion to have an endogenous origin due to coexisting gastrointestinal related complaints and / or hyperacidity secondary to medication side effects, oral hypoglycemics in particular. Usually asymptomatic, the patient often only reports a history of bad tastes and / or breathe of a morning. Younger patients with a history of substance abuse, namely amphetamines and it’s derivatives, typicall
