Attrition is the loss of teeth structure by mechanical forces from opposing teeth. Attrition initially affects the enamel

Tooth enamel

Tooth enamel, along with dentin, cementum, and dental pulp is one of the four major tissues that make up the tooth in vertebrates. It is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance in the human body. Tooth enamel is also found in the dermal denticles of sharks...

 and, if unchecked, may proceed to the underlying dentin

Dentin

Dentine is a calcified tissue of the body, and along with enamel, cementum, and pulp is one of the four major components of teeth. Usually, it is covered by enamel on the crown and cementum on the root and surrounds the entire pulp...

. Once past the enamel, attrition quickly destroys the softer dentin

Dentin

Dentine is a calcified tissue of the body, and along with enamel, cementum, and pulp is one of the four major components of teeth. Usually, it is covered by enamel on the crown and cementum on the root and surrounds the entire pulp...

. Erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

 is a very important contributing factor to the loss of tooth substance by attrition. (A. Johansson et al. 2008)

The most common cause of attrition is bruxism

Bruxism

Bruxism is characterized by the grinding of the teeth and typically includes the clenching of the jaw. It is an oral parafunctional activity that occurs in most humans at some time in their lives. In most people, bruxism is mild enough not to be a health problem...

. Functional habits are those such as chewing and swallowing, which usually puts very little force on opposing teeth. Parafunctional habit

Parafunctional habit

A para-functional habit or parafunctional habit is the habitual exercise of a body part in a way that is other than the most common use of that body part. The term is most commonly used by dentists, orthodontists, or maxillofacial specialists to refer to parafunctional uses of the mouth, tongue...

s, such as clenching and clicking the teeth together nervously, place greater amounts of forces on opposing teeth and begin to wear the teeth. As expected, wear usually begins on the incisal or occlusal surfaces.

Characteristic Features: Development of a facet (flat surface with circumscribed and well defined border). Opposing tooth facets will match perfectly in occlusion.

Interproximal Attrition: Occurs at proximal surfaces of adjacent teeth when they move against one another on occlusal loading. Movement of teeth is in the vertical direction.

See also

• Abrasion
  Abrasion (dental)
  Abrasion is the loss of tooth structure by mechanical forces from a foreign element. If this force begins at the cementoenamel junction, then progression of tooth loss can be rapid since enamel is very thin in this region of the tooth...
  
  
• Abfraction
  Abfraction
  Abfraction is the loss of tooth structure from flexural forces. It is hypothesized that enamel, especially at the cementoenamel junction , undergo this pattern of destruction by separating the enamel rods....
  
  
• Erosion
  Erosion (dental)
  Acid erosion, also known as dental erosion, is the irreversible loss of tooth structure due to chemical dissolution by acids not of bacterial origin. Dental erosion is the most common chronic disease of children ages 5–17, although it is only relatively recently that it has been recognised...
  
  
• Bruxism
  Bruxism
  Bruxism is characterized by the grinding of the teeth and typically includes the clenching of the jaw. It is an oral parafunctional activity that occurs in most humans at some time in their lives. In most people, bruxism is mild enough not to be a health problem...