Tooth Wear and why we see it getting worse

Tooth wear can be characterised by rough edges on your teeth and worn surfaces. When left untreated tooth wear could lead to other dental problems and the different treatment options required can get costly. Therefore, prevention is always best. Here’s everything you need to know about tooth wear and how you can prevent it.

What is Considered Normal Tooth Wear?

Firstly, it’s important to understand what causes tooth wear and how you can avoid severe tooth wear. Normal teeth wear often goes unnoticed. What is considered normal tooth wear depends on your age. To give you an indication, after the age of 30, most adults will have lost roughly a millimeter from their front teeth.

Severe tooth wear on the hand is usually characterised by a substantial loss of tooth structure and a variety of other symptoms such as increased tooth sensitivity and tooth decay. Severe tooth wear should be addressed by your dentist.

What Causes Severe Tooth Wear?

To a certain extent, tooth wear is a normal part of ageing. Tooth enamel is the hardest ‘material’ in our body. However, what we as dentists are seeing is an accelerated pattern of worn enamel. The reason for this is multifactorial and can be a result of:

Increase in Acidic Drinks

The one thing that does attack enamel and tooth structure are acids. Acids in soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit juices, soda water, lemon/lime in water, and so on, all soften the enamel, turning it to more of a chalky consistency. This accelerates dental wear and can cause worn teeth.

Increase in Lifestyle Stress.

People who are mentally and/or physically active clench or grind their teeth, often known as bruxism. When you sleep, the reflex that governs how much pressure we put on our teeth also goes to sleep, allowing us to put massive pressure on our teeth for up to 6-8 hrs per night. As you can imagine, such pressure can cause excessive wear on your teeth and compromise tooth structure.

Increase in Reflux

Just like acidic food and drinks, stomach acid can affect the enamel layer of your teeth. We are seeing more and more patients with gastroesophageal reflux, or otherwise known as acid reflux. This can also occur at night and the effects can be devastating, as softened enamel is ground away during those sleep hours. Most of the time, the patient is quite often unaware this is even happening.

What Can Happen if Tooth Wear is Not Addressed?

If left untreated, worn teeth can lead to a variety of other dental conditions. Some patients may even notice some of the following symptoms:

• Sensitive teeth

• Sore gums

• Tooth decay

• Yellow or discoloured teeth

• Jaw pain

What Can You Do About Severe Tooth Wear?

In the early stages of worn teeth, identification of the early signs is extremely important. Once the signs have been identified, then an assessment of diet, history of reflux and other acid exposures, and modifications to diet/lifestyle should be considered.

If teeth clenching and/or grinding is present, we can make a custom mouthguard that you wear at night that can help prevent further wear. In more severe cases the muscles that are involved with grinding can be injected with botulinum toxin to reduce their activity and strength.

In the moderate stages, teeth wear usually gets to the stage where it has gone through the outer 1.5-2mm of enamel, into the softer dentine. This softer dentine wears more to produce ‘pot holes’ where the acid pools and accelerates the breakdown. At the simple ‘pot hole’ stage, small fillings can be placed to help slow the wear, as well as addressing the causative factors as above.

In more severe cases, reconstruction is usually required, this also may involve a complex mix of restorative dentistry services such as using dental crowns or porcelain veneers to restore lost tissue and create a more youthful smile. Your exact treatment options will depend on the amount of tissue lost, your bite and your unique facial structure. At Cambridge City Dental, our Perth dentists will tailor the treatment plan for worn teeth exactly to your unique needs.

How Can You Prevent Severe Tooth Wear?

There are several preventative measures you can take to slow dental wear and prevent severe tooth wear.

1. Practice good oral hygiene practices. Brushing your teeth 2-3 times a day for two minutes is critical. Choose a toothpaste with fluoride, and toothbrushes that have soft bristles to prevent tooth abrasion.

2. Maintain regular checkups with your dentist to catch tooth wear early on and ensure any other issues such as tooth grinding have been taken care of.

3. Avoid excessive consumption of acidic foods and drinks such as citrus fruit, carbonated drinks and vinegar-based products.

4. Reduce stress by implementing stress-relieving activities such as meditation, yoga or simply taking time out of your day to do the things you enjoy!

Get in Contact With Cambridge City Dental

Looking for more advice on tooth wear? Our dentists are here to help! We offer a variety of general dentistry, restorative dentistry, and cosmetic dentistry services. with Cambridge City Dental online or by calling today!

Our dentist in Perth has practical solutions or can recommend treatments for worn teeth or teeth grinding.