Why Are My Teeth Wearing Down?
Tooth wear is the erosion of the tooth surface, not being caused by decay or an injury. Your teeth wearing down can be categorized as pathologic or physiologic. As you age there is a certain amount of natural wear and tear that occurs. Pathologic tooth wear is when it occurs outside the scope of what is considered normal. This will have an impact on your aesthetic perception affecting your self-esteem, your functionality and chewing ability, and can also become painful if the tooth wear exposes a nerve.
Common Causes of Teeth Wearing Down
- Bruxism- Bruxism is the impulsive clenching and grinding of your teeth. It can happen during the day, but most often occurs during your sleep. The causes of bruxism are considered to be stress, anxiety, and the abnormal positioning of your teeth and jaws, a malocclusion. You might have a neurologic component to your cause, so management plays a significant role if you cannot stop the grinding or clenching. Bruxism can be controlled comfortably by using a mouth guard at night if identified earlier. If the tooth wear has become significant then some restoration is still required.
- Attrition- Attrition is when the wear is tooth on tooth, which also includes the destruction of tooth structure from any clenching and grinding. Attrition is the wearing down of both the biting and chewing surfaces of your teeth. The tooth-to-tooth pressures and contact during natural chewing grinds down the surfaces with time. The back teeth become flatter, and your front teeth become shorter. Severe attrition of your front teeth will have an undesirable impact on your face. It can also result in increased sensitivity to hot and cold or sweet food and drinks.
- Abrasion- Abrasion is the wearing down of the teeth surfaces caused by friction. This happens when you brush your teeth too aggressively in horizontal strokes. Using a stiff bristle toothbrush will also cause the problem. It is most often evident on the cheek-side surfaces of your back teeth. You can literally see an indentation of the tooth right at the gumline.
How Can Tooth Wear Be Repaired?
Once the teeth wearing down has created a reduction of the outer enamel, the dentin, or softer inside part of the tooth, it will begin to wear at a faster rate. The dentin is considerably softer than the enamel, so the rate of wear accelerates.
Your dentist has a variety of solutions available to repair and restore your worn-down teeth. Areas of exposed dentine, or chips, cracks, and discoloration, can be restored with composite bonding. This putty-like, tooth colored material can be shaped and sculpted over the tooth to mask and hide abnormalities. Your dentist could recommend a dental crown to cover and protect the entire tooth. This is after the erosion has led to a large breakdown of tooth structure, weakening the tooth. The crown can restore the lost tooth structure. Sometimes a crown lengthening procedure is beneficial in addition to a crown because as the tooth is worn away it has pulled your gums and bone with it. If this step is not added, an inadequate amount of tooth remains to restore it properly and the aesthetics are compromised.