CLINICAL ASPECTS AMT, v. II, no. 4, 2013, p. 294 CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF ABRASION IN YOUNG PATIENTS CRISTINA BUTE 1 , LUMINIŢA OANCEA 2 , MIHAELA PANTEA 3 , GABRIELA TĂNASE 4 , ION ALEXANDRU POPOVICI 5 , SEBASTIAN CERNUŞCĂ-MIŢARIU 6 , CLAUDIA CAMELIA BURCEA 7 1 “Prof. Dr. Dan Theodorescu” Clinical Hospital Bucureşti, 2,3,4,5,7 “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Bucureşti, 6 “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu Keywords: dental wear, young patients Abstract: Objectives: The purpose of the study is to identify the groups, respectively the dental surfaces that are most frequently under the impact of the non-carious and non-traumatic loss of hard substance, as well as its degree in patients 20 to 25 years old. Method: A sample of subjects is selected according to standardized inclusion and exclusion criteria. For each subject, a pair of plaster models is executed; on them, an analysis shall be carried out, according to the Smith-Knight index, relating to the degree of abrasion on the four surfaces; the results shall be summarized in a Microsoft Excel 2007 database. The data obtained are processed through statistical analysis, carried out in a specialized manner with the PASW 18 software. Results: The frequency of wear in young patients is 35.7% and it is present in 33.9% of all the assessed surfaces. One third of the examined surfaces display modifications in the thickness of the enamel tissue or an impact on dentin at various degrees. The most frequent impact is on the maxillary incisors, the canines and the molars; the highest levels of wear are also identified at their level. Conclusions: Increased attention should be paid to the non-carious lack of dental substrate in young patients in order to establish specific rules of prevention. Cuvinte cheie: uzura dentară, pacienţi tineri Rezumat: Obiective: Studiul îsi propune identificarea grupurilor, respectiv a suprafeţelor dentare cel mai frecvent afectate de pierderea de substanţă dură de etiologie necarioasă si netraumatică, precum şi gradul acesteia, la pacienţii între 20-25 de ani. Metoda: Se selectează un lot de subiecţi după criterii standardizate de includere si excludere. Pentru fiecare subiect se realizează o pereche de modele, pe care se analizează conform indicelui Smith-Night gradul de abraziune pe cele patru suprafeţe, rezultatele fiind sintetizate într-o bază de date Microsoft Excel 2007. Datele obţinute se prelucrează prin analiza statistică, realizată specializat cu ajutorul programului PASW 18. Rezultate: Frecvenţa uzurii la pacienţii tineri este de 35,7% şi apare în 33,9% din totalul suprafeţelor evaluate. O treime din suprafeţele examinate prezintă modificări în grosimea ţesutului enamelar sau interesarea dentinei în grade variabile. Cel mai frecvent sunt afectaţi incisivii superiori, caninii si molarii, la nivelul lor găsindu-se şi gradele cele mai mari de uzură. Concluzii: Lipsei de substrat dentar de origine necarioasă la pacienţii tineri, ar trebui să i se acorde o importanţă crescută, în vederea institurii unor norme de prevenţie. 1 Corresponding author: Luminiţa Oancea, Str. Ionel Perlea, Nr. 12, Bucuresti, România, E-mail: trili_poli@yahoo.com, Tel: +40763 673848 Article received on 30.09.2013 and accepted for publication on 4.11.2013 ACTA MEDICA TRANSILVANICA December 2013;2(4):294-296 INTRODUCTION Given the fact that dental wear is a physiological process that occurs with age, it seems reasonable to accept that, to a certain extent, the structural dental changes on hard dental tissues should be interpreted as a modality of adaptation rather than as pathology. The border between the physiological and the pathological remains, however, roughly sketched, because the etiology of dental deterioration has turned out to be multi- factorial, generating polymorphous representations, and the terminology relating to dental wear used in the literature is inconstant. The process of pathological wear of the teeth is irreversible and it grows more severely on its own, in close interdependence with the occlusal disharmony, with the para- functions, but it may also occur because of incorrect hygiene, with the application of increased force when brushing and with the use of inappropriate toothpaste. The appearance of pathological wear in young adults requires the elaboration of prevention programs, that should preclude the appearance or hinder the aggravation of the loss of healthy dental structure. PURPOSE The objectives of this study are the identification of the dental groups, of the dental surfaces that are most frequently under the impact of a non-carious loss of hard substance, as well as the analysis of the degree of such a wear in young patients. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the data obtained in published specialized studies is also taken into account. METHODS - the study of specialized literature in order to identify recent research on this topic – carried out with the End-Note software, in two databases – PubMed and Cochrane, based on the keywords: dental wear, non-carious lesions, prevalence, frequency. From among the results, we chose