Introduction to Teeth - Dental Biotribology - page 22

Loe et al. carried out an extensive study involving 1,311 male and 1,348 female
red deer aged 3-25 years in Norway to study deceleration and sex-dependent tooth
wear [ 133 ]. They found that molar height correlated positively with body weight in
both sexes, but not after adjusting for body size. Most attempts to determine age by
wear have proven unreliable, and the variation in tooth wear between sexes has been
viewed as a problem for age determination rather than as a possibility to gain insight
into life variation. Sex-dependent food selection seems to be the most plausible
explanation for the faster tooth wear in male ungulates. The positive correlation
between tooth height and body weight may be confounded by the positive correlation
between body size and initial molar height.
It has been postulated that attrition or dental wear is not always a negative aspect
[ 116 ]. Some species of animals sharpen their teeth by purposely “wearing down,”
which could, first, improve their oral health and, second, improve haunting and
survivorship.
The similarities and differences between mammals' teeth and human teeth have
been progressively realized and studied side by side. The evolution of human teeth
was investigated from fossils to primates to humans. This is very necessary and
important to gain some knowledge of animals' teeth. However, most research on the
teeth of mammals was not conducted to study their structures and wear
mechanisms.

1.9 Research Significance

1.9.1 Clinical Implications

Friction between the surfaces of teeth has been implicated to be necessary for oral
functions, especially mastication. Moreover, tooth wear may be regarded as a sig-
nificant clinical consequence both aesthetically and functionally, the presence of
which can improve masticatory efficiency and reduce the susceptibility of the denti-
tion to disease and malocclusion. As teeth wear, they continue to erupt, which led to
the concept of “wearing into occlusion.” In dentistry, occlusion is known as the
alignment of the teeth of the upper and lower jaws when brought together.
A degree of tooth wear is normal, and it progresses throughout life. However, if
wear is not controlled, the enamel will eventually be breached, causing superficial
dentin to be exposed in the mouth. Once breached, both the enamel and exposed
dentin wear at accelerated rates. Excessive wear of teeth can result in disastrous
consequences, such as unacceptable damage to the occluding surfaces, alteration of
the functional path of masticatory movement, dentin hypersensitivity, and even
pulpal pathology. It may also destroy anterior tooth structure that is essential to
acceptable anterior guidance function or aesthetics, causing increased horizontal
stresses on the masticatory system and associated temporomandibular joint remod-
eling [ 134 , 135 ]. Moreover, the wear of proximal surfaces may lead to the loss of