Biomechanical risk is more than just decay. A lot of us think that we first check for perio, then decay. I also look for acidity or erosion. Erosion can absolutely destroy a person's dentition. When I see signs of erosion on an adult I start thinking about sleep apnea. If I see signs of acidity in younger persons, it can be an early sign of bulimia. Erosion can also be a result of medications or eating habits. But whatever the culprit, I want my patients to understand what is going on in their mouth and what is causing the new decay or acidity problems because the long-term effects of these risk factors can be very poor.

With the decay part of this, especially if I see decay in new areas, I tell patients they're high risk. A lot of them get frustrated with us because we as dentists we have to keep fixing problems. What I'd really like to see change in American dentistry is that before we do any work on a patient, we go over their risk factors with them. The patient's risk factors have a huge impact on the long-term success of the work we do and on the patient's health. So let's dive into more biomechanical risks today and what we as dentists can do to better educate patients on their biomechanical risks.