Why Are My Teeth Wearing Down?
Tooth wear is the natural loss of tooth size and surface, not caused by an injury or decay. The wearing down of your teeth can be either pathologic or physiologic. As you age there is natural wear and tear that will occur and is considered normal. Pathologic tooth wear occurs beyond what is considered normal. This can impact the chewing and functionality, your esthetic appearance affecting your self-esteem, and will also become painful if the tooth wear exposes a nerve.
Common Causes of Teeth Wearing Down
* Attrition: Attrition is tooth on tooth causing the wearing down, which can include damaging the tooth structure from clenching and grinding. Attrition is the wearing down of the chewing surfaces of your teeth. The tooth-to-tooth contact while chewing wears away the surfaces over time. The back teeth become flatter, and your front teeth become shorter. The severe attrition of your front teeth will cause an undesirable visual effect on your face. It can also result in sensitivity to sweet, or hot and cold temperatures.
* Bruxism: Bruxism is the involuntary grinding and clenching of your teeth. It can happen while you are awake, but often happens while you sleep. The causes of bruxism are most often considered to be anxiety, stress, and abnormal positioning of your jaws or your teeth, a misalignment, or a malocclusion. You could have a neurologic component to your causes, so self-management is important if you cannot stop the clenching and grinding. Bruxism can be controlled and made more comfortable by wearing a nightguard during sleep if identified earlier. If the tooth wear has become significant then restoration is required.
* Abrasion: Abrasion is the wearing down of any tooth surface caused by friction. This happens when you brush your teeth too aggressively in horizontal strokes. A toothbrush with stiffer bristles can cause the problem. It is more evident on the cheek side surfaces of your back teeth. An indentation of the tooth can be seen at the gumline.
How Can Tooth Wear Be Repaired?
Once your teeth wearing down has caused the reduction of the outer enamel, the softer second layer of the tooth, the dentin, begins to wear at a faster rate. Dentin is much softer than the enamel, so the wear rate accelerates in both the amount and the amount of time.
Both the loss of the protective enamel and the sensitivity of the exposed dentin can be treated successfully by your dentist. Teeth with exposed dentine can be restored with a composite bonding application. This putty-like, tooth colored material can be shaped and sculpted over a tooth. With more wear your dentist may recommend a dental crown to protect the entire tooth. This is when the erosion has resulted in a larger breakdown of tooth structure.
The crown can restore the tooth structure. Sometimes a crown lengthening procedure is necessary before the crown placement because as the tooth is worn away, it continues to erupt, pulling the gums and bone with it. If this issue is not corrected, an inadequate amount of the tooth remains to restore it properly and the esthetics of the tooth are compromised.