Seven signs and symptoms of occlusal disease: the key to an easy diagnosis.

Occlusal disease (OD) is a far more destructive disease than most people realize. Dr. Peter Dawson considers OD the main cause of tooth loss.1 If we accept that statement, it would mean that OD is more destructive than caries and periodontal disease! Historically dentists are very good at diagnosing caries, and are getting better at diagnosing periodontal disease. Although OD is such destructive disease, it is sad to see that very few dentists actually diagnose OD on every patient during a comprehensive evaluation. One reason this happens is because most dentists are not experts in occlusion; this is despite the fact that dentists alter occlusion every day when they restore or replace teeth. The primary reason dentist are not experts in occlusion is because most available occlusion courses, although good and comprehensive, make occlusion to complicated and the occlusal diagnosis to burdensome and difficult to implement for a busy clinician. The purpose of this article is to present a very simple and methodic system to implement occlusal diagnosis using and understanding the 7 signs and symptoms of OD.