No – abfraction has nothing to do with those pesky arithmetic problems that we solved in school. It is a phenomenon that happens along the cervical area of a tooth. The cervical area is along the gum line. An abfraction lesion is a “V” shaped notch in the tooth that forms along the gum line. It was previously thought that these cavitations were caused by overly aggressive tooth brushing or by leeching out through chemical erosion, it is now postulated that forces of the bite will cause the tooth to flex causing tiny cracks to form over the years eventually forming the classic “V” furrow. There are no studies at this time which prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that these wedge formations were caused by biting forces, however, it comes the closest to explaining a phenomenon that can’t be caused by tooth brushing alone. These cavitations can be observed for a while, but they should be restored before they get too deep. By rounding out the “V” shaped notch during the cavity preparation, biting forces will be more evenly distributed, helping to slow the process. Due to tooth flexion during chewing, fillings placed in these areas tend to need to be replaced more often.