Clinical features and differential diagnosis of erosion lesions: systemic etiologies.

An accurate diagnosis is essential for successful treatment, making it critical that dentists recognize the differences among erosion lesions and the numerous etiologies that cause them. Erosion lesions may result from various factors, including intrinsic etiologies. The similarities among the intrinsic types of lesions and those caused by noncarious destructive mechanisms in the oral cavity may lead to conflict over their etiologies; as a result, these lesions may be ignored, undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed. This article identifies the many systemic etiologies that propel stomach acid into the oral cavity, thereby causing dental erosion. Specific descriptions of the clinical characteristics of dental erosion lesions associated with the identified etiologies are provided and the differential diagnoses are outlined.