Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00585:reg:6
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2018C00585
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 6
Character Range: 3516–6044

6               Kind of injury, disease or death to which this Statement of Principles relates
(1)          This Statement of Principles is about tooth wear and death from tooth wear.
Meaning of tooth wear
(2)          For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, tooth wear means:
(a)          the localised or generalised loss of dental hard tissues (enamel, dentine and dental restorative material) due to an intrinsic or extrinsic mechanical or chemical process; and
(b)          where dentine is exposed on at least one tooth surface, and causes:

(i)            severe tooth pain or sensitivity; or
(ii)         significant impairment of effective tooth function; and

(c)          is confirmed by a dental clinician using a recognised tooth wear evaluation system; and
(d)          comprises:

(i)            dental abrasion;
(ii)         dental attrition; and
(iii)       dental erosion; and

(e)           excludes:

(i)            mild tooth wear which is confined to the enamel; and
(ii)         loss of tooth substance caused by dental caries or discrete dental trauma.
             Note 1:  Tooth wear may cause tooth pain or dentine hypersensitivity that is persistent, or which occurs with eating, drinking or tooth cleaning, and which is of sufficient severity to interfere with normal oral function or require dental consultation.  Masticatory function can be compromised by tooth pain and reduced vertical and horizontal dimension of the affected dentition.
Note 2:  Dental reconstruction may be required.
             Note 3:  dental abrasion, dental attrition and dental erosion are defined in the Schedule 1 - Dictionary.
(3)          While tooth wear attracts ICD‑10‑AM code K03.0, K03.1 or K03.2, in applying this Statement of Principles the meaning of tooth wear is that given in subsection (2).
(4)          For subsection (3), a reference to an ICD‑10‑AM code is a reference to the code assigned to a particular kind of injury or disease in The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD‑10‑AM), Ninth Edition, effective date of 1 July 2015, copyrighted by the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, ISBN 978‑1‑76007‑020‑5.
Death from tooth wear
(5)          For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, tooth wear, in relation to a person, includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person's tooth wear.
Note: terminal event is defined in the Schedule 1 – Dictionary.