The wearing away of a tooth as a result of tooth-to-tooth contact, as in mastication, occurring only on the occlusal, incisal, and proximal surfaces. It is chiefly associated with aging. It is differentiated from TOOTH ABRASION (the pathologic wearing away of the tooth substance by friction, as brushing, bruxism, clenching, and other mechanical causes) and from TOOTH EROSION (the loss of substance caused by chemical action without bacterial action). (Jablonski, Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p86)

Annotation

do not confuse with TOOTH EROSION or TOOTH ABRASION

DUI

D019217 MeSH Browser

CUI

M0028623

Previous indexing

Tooth Abrasion (1966-1996)

History note

1997; for DENTAL ATTRITION use TOOTH ABRASION 1976-1996

Public note

1997; for DENTAL ATTRITION see TOOTH ABRASION 1976-1996