Dental Erosive Wear Risk Assessment

Abstract

This chapter presents a newly developed dental erosive wear risk assessment tool designed for use by general dental practitioners, dental educators, and dental students. The tool guides the user through the most common risk factors associated with dental erosive wear, and when combined with the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) or other similar scoring system, leads to a final decision on patient risk status. An initial screening section helps the dentist to decide whether it is necessary to perform a more comprehensive dental erosive wear risk assessment. When there is clearly a need for further assessment, all dental erosive wear lesions are then recorded using the index of choice, and the dentist decides how the recorded conditions will be documented. The dentist then uses the Dental erosive wear risk assessment (DEWRA) form, where dietary and oral hygiene habits, general health status, and clinical conditions are evaluated using a thorough patient interview. An overall patient risk category is chosen and the section for treatment planning and advice to the patient can then be used. The last part of this chapter provides a brief explanation of the various risk factors that are included in the DEWRA form.