Diagnosis, prevention and management of dental erosion: summary of an updated national guideline.

An updated guideline on erosion has recently been published. The full version can be viewed on The Royal College of Surgeons of England website at www.rcseng.ac.uk/fds/clinical_guidelines. The guideline aims to assist the diagnosis, prevention and management of erosion in children, adolescents and adults. It has several sections, covering aetiology, presentation, diagnosis and management. The update replaces the previous guideline, which was published in 1999, and focuses more on practical aspects of management. Details of the search strategy to obtain evidence to support the guidelines can be found on the website in an Erosion Guideline Appendix. In common with the majority of oral conditions, there are significant gaps in the evidence on which to base guidelines. However, both of the authors of the updated guideline have research backgrounds in toothwear/dental erosion, as well as clinical experience of its management, and the guideline should be viewed as the best available at present. This brief report summarises the updated guideline, which will be linked to the Standards in Dentistry webpages in the near future.