Who is working on the phenomenon: LSAMAT (Lingual Surface Attriton of the Maxillary Anterior Teeth)?
Is there any confirmed knowledge about the causes? The phenomenon seems to have been observed on all continents. However, causes frequently mentioned in the past, such as the cultivation of tuberous plants in South America, do not apply to Europe.
I am glad about every hint!
Greetings Kurt W. Alt
I hope this paper will be usefull for you:
Willman, J. C., Lozano, M., Hernando, R., & Vergès, J. M. (2020). Gigapixel-like imaging strategies for dental anthropology: Applications for scientific communication and training in digital image analysis. Quaternary International, 569, 15-22.
Best,
Raquel
Dear Raquel
many thanks for the submitted titel of the Wilman et al. 2020 paper. Text, figures and references are very helpful.
Best Kurt
L K Bandlish London.
Upper anterior teeth have bigger roots and are located in the maxilla which is fixed to the skull. Upper teeth cannot absorb the forces of mastication and wear. Lower anterior teeth have smaller roots and the mandible is movable as such it absorbs the forces of mastication and do not wear. It is like taking catch in cricket, if you move the hand with the ball it does not hurt.
Dear Lalit
This argument sounds interesting. Is there any literature on this or even experimental studies?
Best Kurt
I have been working on enamel caries, plaque and attrition since 1980. My first paper was Attrition a defence mechanism against caries. Second paper was Attrition and plaque defence mechanism against caries. Epithelium protects itself by shedding superficial layers and enamel is of epithelial origin. Most of the attrition in upper anteriors happens on the palatal surfaces while much of the wear in the lower anteriors is inter proximally. Fluorides make the enamel hypo mineralised. Hypomineralised enamel wears faster. Most of the surfaces which wear loose fluoride and the decayed parts of the enamel gain fluoride. Fluorides make the enamel weak that is how fluorides reduce enamel caries. Proximal caries start after the contact between the adjoining teeth is established. Rate of proximal caries is maximum within first 2-3 years of the contact being established when the contact area is small. As the contact area becomes bigger with wear decay slows down. Smaller the contact area faster the decay progresses, as the contact area becomes bigger the decay slows down. Contact area is more prone to caries because it is devoid of protective plaque or biofilm. Bulk of the enamel caries start at the edge of the plaque. You may like to see my website www.enamelcaries.com.
Everything you write convinces me, my experiences are quite similar. However, the problem with LSAMAT is somewhat different. This type of wear usually affects only part of the anterior teeth in the upper jaw and is probably related to the use of the teeth as a third hand. The causes for the phenomenon given in the published literature are not convincing. Affected individuals - always very few within communities - engaged in specific activities that reveal themselves as LSAMAT findings.