Worn Teeth

Worn teeth are becoming increasingly common. While there are many causes, and various treatments, one aspect remains true for all cases – early identification, prevention and management is essential for saving you time and money in the long run. At Noosa Family Dental we are serious about saving every last millimeter of your teeth.

What causes tooth wear?

Grinding your teeth together (attrition)

This usually happens at night, but can also happen during the day

Most people are not aware that they do it

People grind more when they’re stressed

Acid exposure (erosion)

Acid in your diet literally dissolves your teeth away

Unhealthy foods (coca cola) are acidic and damaging to your teeth.

There are however many, many healthy foods which will also cause significant damage.

Soda water is a common culprit.

Apples, cucumber, tomato, and citrus fruits eaten in excess will cause damage.

Abrasion

When an object physically abrades and wears the tooth away.

Eg. Your toothbrush, if used incorrectly

What do worn teeth look like?

• Shorter and flatter
• Uneven or chipped edges
• More yellow – as the whiter enamel is worn away
• See through or grey looking edges
• Gaps between teeth – as the wider edge is worn away, the teeth stop touching together

What do worn teeth feel like?

• Sensitive – when the protective enamel shell has been worn away, the sensitive underlying dentine will react to cold and sweet
• Painful – if wear becomes severe, the nerve can become exposed and the tooth can die
• Broken – worn teeth are weaker and will often break or crack

What can be done?

Depending on the severity we can either:

• Stop further wear by wearing a guard at night
• Rebuild the lost tooth structure
• We can replace the lost tooth with composite resin.

Resin is a beautiful material which can be used to match your current tooth shade, or make your teeth look lighter, depending on your preference.

We don’t have to cut tooth away to place resin (unlike crowns), so we can conserve your precious teeth.

Rebuilding teeth in resin will make your teeth look more youthful and feel stronger. Protecting them against further wear, and breakages or cracks.

If you want to see what rebuilding your worn teeth will look like, ask your dentist. We can arrange for a 15minute “mock up.”