Despite best intentions, your teeth can be easily damaged over time.
Over a lifetime teeth can be worn down and become chipped and damaged through a variety of causes. Not only can chipped and worn teeth add to an unattractive smile, they can also cause serious dental problems later in life including sensitive teeth, tooth decay and gum disease.
There are a number of causes for worn teeth, most commonly:
Attrition & Tooth Grinding
Attrition is the gradual reduction of the tooth’s enamel through repetitive wear. While teeth can be worn down through general daily eating and speaking, the most common and significant cause of attrition is teeth grinding.
Also known as bruxism, teeth grinding usually occurs while the patient is asleep – often not even knowing that they grind their teeth and the subsequent attrition and loss of enamel that is occurring.
Abrasion
Abrasion occurs when a foreign object damages the enamel and wears away or damages the tooth. Abrasion can occur with almost any foreign object, but most commonly when patients:
Wear jewellery in and near their mouth, including tongue and lip piercings that rub on nearby teeth
Bite their nails, chew pencils or hold hard objects in their mouths like nails, pins and wires
Brush their teeth hard or for too long or brush using a brush with too-stiff bristles.
Erosion
Many foods and drinks are highly acidic and can cause your tooth enamel to wear over time, leading to erosion.
Occasional exposure to acidic foods and drinks such as citrus fruits, sodas, tea and coffee rarely causes dental problems, however regular exposure can cause permanent damage to the enamel on your teeth and lead to serious dental problems over time.
Some of the most common causes of enamel erosion include:
- Drinking several glasses of soda, lemonade or fruit juice daily
- Daily sucking or chewing sour or fruit flavoured candy
- Drinking several cups of tea or coffee daily
- Regularly eating or sucking on sour citrus fruits like lemons and limes
- Regularly vomiting (bulimia)
Treatments for Worn and Chipped Teeth
The Dentist at Burwood can restore even the most damaged smile to its brilliant best using a range of modern dental techniques.
Your individual solution will depend on the nature and extent of the damage caused to your teeth, worn and damaged teeth will usually stain and darken sometimes. Simple white fillings will partially restore shape colour and function and sometimes with extensive wear and tear we find that porcelain veneers and crowns give our patients the best results in the shortest amount of time.
Learn more about porcelain veneers.
Learn more about Cerec porcelain crowns and teeth capping.
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