A semiquantitative method of recording experimental tooth erosion and estimating occlusal wear in the rat.

Abstract

As the erosive agent, a sport-drink mixture with pH 3.2 was given to Osborne-Mendel rats for 6 weeks. Lingual surfaces of the right first mandibular molar crowns were chosen for the recording. With the aid of a drawing tube mounted on a stereomicroscope, enlarged drawings of the surfaces were made encircling the intact and eroded areas. A computer-coupled analyser was used to measure the areas of the total surface, intact surface, eroded enamel and exposed dentine in square millimetres. The data was evaluated statistically and used to calculate erosion changes and to estimate occlusal wear.