Objective: The purpose of this article was to combine the tribological theories that govern how each of the four mechanisms of tooth wear (attrition, abrasion, erosion and abfraction) work together to help diagnose and manage tooth wear clinically.
Background: Tooth wear occurs in approximately 45-85% of all adults, it has multiple causes that can be hard to identify as one specific cause, making it difficult to apply models based on single causative factors.
Review: The authors of the article review the basic principles of tribology (wear, friction, and lubrication), provide an overview of each type of tooth wear mechanism individually, and discuss how these wear mechanisms interact with other types of wear (such as corrosion, abrasion, or abfraction), and review some of the tools that clinicians use to diagnose tooth wear (such as the BEWE), and evaluate several different interventions (such as splinting which provided a 60% decrease in tooth wear).
Conclusion: An integrative approach to tooth wear using tribological concepts is necessary to understand how tooth wear works; therefore, preventing tooth wear by controlling the etiology of tooth wear should be the primary method of treatment and restoration.
Future Research Directions: Future research will need to include clinical trials of abfraction and the development of bioactive materials.
Clinical Relevance: Assessing tooth wear from a systemic perspective helps prevent further progression of tooth wear and increases the longevity of the dentition. This is especially important given the increased acidity of our diets and lifestyles (Loomans et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2022).
Keywords: Tooth wear, dental tribology, attrition, abrasion, erosion, abfraction, non-carious cervical lesions, NCCL, occlusal stress.
How to cite this article: Agnihotri Y, Agnihotri NL, Das A, Das S, Gupta A, Prusty L. Tribology and tooth wear: a comprehensive review of wear mechanisms in dentistry. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(7s): 456-462; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.7s.49
Source of support: Nil.
Conflict of interest: None