The challenge of erosion and minimally invasive rehabilitation of dentitions with BEWE grade 4.

OBJECTIVE: Dental erosion is a challenging problem. In addition to dental erosion's dental effects, general health also has to be taken into account. In particular, consumption of newly marketed beverages as well as psychosomatic and gastroesophageal disorders contribute to decayed dentitions. Without a comprehensive method for implementing preventive concepts in daily practice, many young adults will require large-scale, long-term treatment in the near future. Thus, dentists should be aware of preventative methods, prerequisites for rehabilitation, and treatment concepts available for such cases. Clinical Considerations: Patients with severe dental erosions are often young adults who suffer from hypersensitivity and loss of vertical dimension and occlusal structure. Modern ceramics enable a minimally invasive, esthetic, and rugged approach for achieving a complete rehabilitation. In particular, monolithic restorations using lithium disilicate or zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate seem to be promising treatment strategies. In addition to the dentist, the dental technician needs to be educated and experienced with complex occlusal and functional rehabilitation. Currently, clinical longterm experiences have only been reported for adhesively bonded silicate and lithium disilicate restorations. CONCLUSION: Heat-pressed and adhesively bonded monolithic lithium disilicate restoration fulfills all needs of complex treatment and long-term rehabilitation in young adults with dental erosion. Even if minimal tooth preparation is needed, in healthy teeth, adhesively bonded restorations require minimal thickness of the ceramic layer to obtain function, durability, and esthetics for this type of patient.