This study sought to determine the effect of cyclic loading and toothbrush abrasion (with and without abrasive slurries) on cervical lesion formation. The roots of extracted human third molars were embedded in
acrylic resin, leaving 2 mm of root structure and
crowns exposed. Teeth were divided into 6 groups (n = 10) with the following treatments: no treatment (control), cyclic load in distilled water, brushing with distilled water, cyclic load followed by brushing with distilled water, brushing with
toothpaste slurry, and cyclic load followed by brushing with
toothpaste slurry. Cyclic loading and
toothbrushing machines subjected the teeth to 1.6 million cyclic loads and 30,000 brushing
strokes, the equivalent of 4 years of function and brushing for an average patient. The teeth were scanned with a 3-dimensional optical profilometer to determine the volumetric loss of tooth structure. Load cycling had no significant effect on cervical
tooth loss. Brushing with
toothpaste resulted in significantly greater cervical
tooth loss than brushing with water, which in turn was significantly greater than no treatment at all.