Can Worn Down Teeth Be Fixed?
You can encounter several dental problems from worn down teeth, tooth damage and tooth loss. Dental cavities and gum disease are the most frequent and common oral health problems. Chronic teeth grinding and clenching, or bruxism, is a condition that will also seriously damage your teeth.
The two major reasons for worn down teeth is erosion, or tooth loss from the exposure to acidic substances. The acids can either come directly from your body from vomiting or reflux, or from the food and beverages you enjoy such as acidic fruits and soft drinks. Direct tooth on tooth wear is also the result of grinding or clenching.
With constant friction day in and day out, your teeth will begin to wear down. With this attrition, the back teeth will become flatter, and your front teeth will become shorter. Severe attrition will affect your facial appearance over time from the loss of tooth structure.
When the protective enamel on your teeth has worn away, the nerve endings in the dentin will become exposed. Worn-down teeth will make you more sensitive to some food and drinks and might become painful when brushing your teeth.
The dental industry today offers cosmetic solutions to rebuild worn-down teeth and restore them to their natural function, shape, and length. Your dentist might use dental bonding, veneers, or dental crowns to restore your teeth and your healthy smile to when it you enjoyed it, or even possibly better than how it was.
Treatment Options for Worn Down Teeth
* Tooth Reshaping- This is the most conservative of the options. Worn down teeth that have become short and flat are easily reshaped to restore the natural curves of your more youthful teeth. This procedure requires no anesthesia. For any teeth with chipped areas that also appear aged, tooth reshaping is an easy solution to recreate a youthful smile.
* Dental Bonding- Cosmetic tooth bonding is the same composite resin that is used to repair cavities. A pliable, tooth-colored material, dental bonding will cover imperfections with a tooth, such as chips, cracks, or discolorations. It will also reshape a tooth that is wore down or misshapen from normal wear and tear that happens often from aging.
Dental bonding usually does not require anesthesia, can be completed in one office visit, and is an easy and conservative treatment for correcting dental imperfections, since it is applied without removing any of the natural enamel.
* Porcelain Veneers- With dental bonding being a viable option in many cosmetic cases, porcelain veneers are durable and stain-resistant for correcting your worn-down teeth and tooth imperfections. Thin porcelain shells that are placed on the front of your teeth, veneers can be used to cover imperfections as well as reshape and lengthen your teeth. The treatment usually takes two office visits.
Whatever has caused the wearing down of your teeth can reoccur and contribute to you wearing down your new restorations. Once you have completed your worn-down teeth restoration you might consider wearing a mouth guard at night to protect your teeth from wearing down again.