Question: Do the biomechanical properties of the diet influence the tooth shape of insectivores? We examined dietary ‘intractability’, the extent to which structural strength, toughness and stiffness of a food are increased, roughly equivalent to ‘hardness’. Hypotheses: The following three factors may cause discrepancies in tooth form in animals with different diets: (1) optional functional for...

Here, we report a case of severe tooth wear associated with a patient's inappropriate efforts to reduce oral malodor. A 72-year-old male patient visited our breath clinic complaining of strong breath odor. Former dentists had performed periodontal treatments including scaling and root planing, but his oral malodor did not decrease. His own subsequent breath odor-reducing efforts included daily ...

Traditionally, thick enamel has often been used to infer durophagy (i.e., hard nut and seed consumption) in extinct hominins. These inferences are based on the hypothesis that thick enamel is primarily an adaptation to prevent tooth fracture or chipping resulting from high-stress loads produced during the mastication of large hard foods. An alternative view argues that thick enamel may aid in m...

The Anterior Dental Loading Hypothesis states that the unique Neanderthal facial and dental anatomy was an adaptive response to the regular application of heavy forces resulting from both the masticatory and cultural use of the anterior teeth. Heavy anterior tooth wear frequently observed in Neanderthal specimens is cited as a main source of evidence for heavy forces being applied to these teet...

Erosive tooth wear is an oral health problem that worries clinicians and researchers worldwide. The aim of this study to describe, through a literature review, the erosive management. This challenge for dental surgeons, especially when it reaches more advanced stages, which can cause loss aesthetic function, as well generate hypersensitivity patient. To prevent progression focusing into prevent...

In many mammalian species, the progressive wearing down of the teeth that occurs over an individual's lifetime has the potential to change dental function, jaw movements, or even feeding habits. The orientation of phase-I wear facets on molars reveals the direction of jaw movement during the power stroke of mastication. We investigated if and how molar wear facets change with increasing wear an...

Teeth in Cervidae are permanent structures that are not replaceable or repairable; consequently their rate of wear, due to the grinding effect of food and dental attrition, affects their duration and can determine an animal's lifespan. Tooth wear is also a useful indicator of accumulative life energy investment in intake and mastication and their interactions with diet. Little is known regardin...