Cutress T W, Suckling G W
Int Dent J. 1982 Jun;32(2):117-22.
Developmental defects of dental enamel are very common with at least one in every three individuals having one or more teeth with obvious non-carious defect. The more common defects are opaque areas, hypoplasias (missing enamel) and discoloured enamel; the variety in form, severity and combination of defects is extensive. The lesions are sequelae of systemic, traumatic or genetic events during tooth development. A review of past and current terminologies, and classifications of developmental defects of enamel, reveals ambiguities, deficiencies and lack of uniformity in methods and criteria used in their study. The principal objective for collecting and recording observations on enamel defects is to determine their frequency, severity and distribution for the purpose of assessing the magnitude of the clinical problem they generate and their aetiology. Hence, an internationally recognized classification of developmental enamel defects and recording procedure would increase the value and comparability of future studies. An acceptable uniform terminology and a simple procedure for classifying the more commonly observed defects, defined by their visual characteristics, would achieve these aims. A classification is proposed which identifies and defines the type, number and location of developmental defects affecting tooth enamel on the buccal and lingual surfaces of all teeth. The procedure has been designed for easy interpretation and simple evaluation. It may be modified for use with much less extensive clinical examination.
牙釉质发育缺陷非常常见，每三个人中至少有一人有一颗或多颗牙齿存在明显的非龋性缺陷。较常见的缺陷有不透明区、发育不全（牙釉质缺失）和牙釉质变色；缺陷的形式、严重程度及组合多种多样。这些病变是牙齿发育期间全身性、创伤性或遗传性事件的后遗症。回顾过去和当前关于牙釉质发育缺陷的术语及分类，发现其研究方法和标准存在模糊性、缺陷及缺乏一致性的问题。收集和记录牙釉质缺陷观察结果的主要目的是确定其频率、严重程度和分布情况，以便评估它们所引发临床问题的严重程度及其病因。因此，一个国际认可的牙釉质发育缺陷分类及记录程序将提高未来研究的价值和可比性。一个可接受的统一术语以及一个根据视觉特征对较常见观察到的缺陷进行分类的简单程序将实现这些目标。本文提出了一种分类方法，该方法可识别并定义影响所有牙齿颊面和舌面牙釉质的发育缺陷的类型、数量和位置。该程序设计得易于解读和简单评估。它可进行修改，以便用于范围小得多的临床检查。
