The role of saliva in dental erosion and a prosthetic approach to treatment: a case report.

Aim: The aim of this report is to describe the relationship of some salivary parameters to dental erosion resulting from excessive citric acid consumption and present a description of a prosthetic approach used to restore the damaged dentition of a patient with severe erosion. Background: The high consumption of dietary sources of acids can lead to erosion or the excessive wear of dental hard tissues. Erosion may be modified by salivary parameters such as flow rate, pH, and buffering capacity. Porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) restorations and composite resin veneers can be used successfully to restore impaired esthetics and eliminate tooth hypersensitivity in such cases. Results: A 37-year-old woman with a history of excessive lemon consumption presented with a complaint of tooth hypersensitivity and the poor appearance of her dentition due to erosion. Stimulated and unstimulated salivary samples of the patient were evaluated for flow rate, pH, and buffering capacity before and after treatment. The pre-treatment values were found to be higher than post-treatment values. Stimulated samples showed an increase of salivary flow rate, pH, and buffering capacity. The measured parameters put forth the defensive potential of saliva against the acidic diet, and the salivary flow rate and buffering capacity decreased after reducing acidic consumption. The excessively eroded teeth were restored using PFM restorations whereas the superficially eroded teeth were restored with composite resins.