Toothwear – initiation and progression
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating erosive toothwear and its progression
IRAS ID
252842
Contact name
David Bartlett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Kings College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Erosive tooth wear is the destruction of tooth structure caused by a combination of acid erosion, abrasion and attrition. Early clinical signs show thinning of the edges of teeth and tooth sensitivity followed by generalised discolouration, tooth fracture, and widespread destruction of teeth. Early identification, prevention and management of tooth wear will help avoid the need for extensive dental treatment in later life.
While both erosive tooth wear and dental decay are caused by acids dissolving tooth structure, there is a fundamental difference between the two diseases. Acid erosion involves different types of acid, such as citric acid (mainly from diet) and hydrochloric acid (mainly from stomach acid) and does not involve any bacteria.
In the dental clinic, the process of erosive tooth wear is associated with a number of behavioural factors. There is a poor understanding and documentation of the processes involved in erosive tooth wear and how this can influence dental treatment.
This research is designated to improve our fundamental understanding of the processes involved in erosive tooth wear, and develop the basic understanding and principles that can be used to prevent its progression. Extracted human teeth will be used to develop a laboratory method to determine this.
Potential volunteers that will donate teeth for this research will be patients who are already undergoing routine removal of their teeth on the Oral Surgery department. They will be given written information about the process (see attached information sheet) and are given sufficient time to provide consent. A consent form (see attached consent form) will be used to obtain written consent. If there are any doubts then teeth will not be collected.
Any teeth collected are immediately anonymised and transferred to the research team in accordance with the Human Tissue Act (HTA); this is conducted by the clinician carrying out the extraction. It is impossible to identify patients by their collected teeth once entered into the study. All tooth samples will be disposed of at the end of the study according to the HTA.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/WM/0351
Date of REC Opinion
4 Dec 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion