[3D analysis of occlusal surfaces of teeth and their contacts. Part II. Assessment of the degree of wear of occlusal surfaces].

THE PURPOSE: Of this study was to evaluate the informativeness of the developed tools for 3D analysis of occlusal surfaces and their mutual contacts on the example of tooth rows with different degrees of abrasion and bite features.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

The developed method of 3D analysis of occlusal contacts (in the range of 0-300 microns of occlusal surfaces separation) was tested in 50 people with different degrees of tooth abrasion.

RESULTS

It is determined that the area of direct contacts (in the range of separation 0-50 microns) increases from 30 to 150% depending on the degree of abrasion of teeth during virtual optimization of contacts. The area of occlusal contacts increases as the teeth wear out, and the relief index decreases. With virtual alignment of abnormally placed teeth, the contact area also increases, with the exception of patients with tooth abrasion up to dentin. When teeth wear out, the proportion of direct contact zones increases relative to the total contact area and the proportion of near-contact zones decreases (200-300 microns).

CONCLUSION

Four key indicators and ranges of their values for differential diagnosis of the degree of tooth abrasion were determined.