Overview
Dental erosion is the irreversible loss of dental hard tissue (enamel, dentine, and cementum) by a chemical process involving acids that does not involve bacteria.
Unlike dental caries (bacterial acid), erosion is caused by extrinsic acids (dietary or environmental) or intrinsic acids (gastric acid from regurgitation or vomiting).
Erosion is an increasingly recognized condition due to the rise in consumption of acidic beverages (soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit juices) and the high prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and eating disorders.