STUDY OF DIAGNOSIS, CHARACTERISTICS AND PROGRESSION OF THE NON-CARIOUS CERVICAL LESIONS

• Grant number: 21/10876-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2023
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Dentistry - Dental Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Regina Guenka Palma-Dibb
• Grantee: Bruna Santos Honório Tonin
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto (FORP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/10069-2 - Stress analysis in non-carious cervical lesions using in silico modeling: failure prediction and implications for clinical interventions, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) are pathological conditions characterized by the loss of tooth structure that are unrelated to dental caries. NCCLs have a multifactorial influence, with the proposed predisposing factors being over occlusal stress (abfraction), mechanical wear (from abrasion, toothbrush/dentrifice) and erosion (chemical degradation). This problem has become an increasingly problem in the young people, then, there is need for better understanding about non-carious lesions in order to earlier diagnosis which may contribute to intervention and treatment, according to the clinical conditions. This study aim provides a morphological information of the NCCLs, to track longitudinally the demineralization rate and pattern of enamel and dentin in each NCCLs and to correlate these data with the possible external factors that may influence the formation of the non-carious lesions. Additionally, the stress distribution and stress concentration will be evaluated to assess whether the over occlusal loading is sufficient to result in micro-fractures at cervical enamel region tooth and also evaluated if the treatments or clinical intervention currently available are efficient to interrupt the micro-failures. For this, ten compromised teeth for each NCCLs will be selected. Using an intraoral scanner, the teeth will be scanned, and each non-carious lesion will be morphologically analyzed. After surgical tooth extraction, the teeth will be submitted to the optical coherence tomography to track the enamel and dentin demineralization. Based on the scanned in situ teeth, three-dimensional models will be made and submitted to the stress analysis using the finite element method (FEM) in different situations: 1. tooth + non-carious lesion; 2. tooth + non-carious lesion + resin composite filling; and 3. tooth + non-carious lesion + resin composite filling + occlusal splint.