What Causes Tooth Wear?
An increasing issue presenting to dental practices in the 21st century is with patients who are experiencing advancing tooth wear leading to both a deterioration in the health of their teeth as well as in increasingly unsatisfactory smile. There are often a combination of factors which contribute to tooth wear and these are often best addressed before looking to repair or restore the damage. Some important factors to address are:
Acid Erosion- Acids from both external and internal sources can be very harmful to teeth as the mineral component of teeth can be dissolved by strong acids which slowly 'washes away' tooth surfaces. External sources of this damage are generally foods and drinks such as fizzy drinks, citrus fruits or juices and white wines and ciders which should be avoided where possible and kept to meal times to minimise harm. Teeth can also suffer from significant wear from internal acids as a result of reflux and eating disorders- these are issues which we would recommend discussing management of these with your GP about.
Habits- Many of our habits can contribute to tooth wear especially on front teeth which often bear the brunt of the abuse. The most common harmful habit is nail biting in which one is posturing and loading the entire force of their bite onto their front teeth which can often cause chipping of these front teeth as they have not evolved to bear so much loading. There are a vast amount of other habits that we have witnessed over the years but these are often more specific to individuals such as opening bottles with teeth, chewing the tips of pens and 'storing' tools like hair grips or screws between teeth while working. Many of these habits can be hard to break as they are by their nature often subconscious but where possible are best avoided.
Clenching and Grinding- A huge number of us routinely engage in clenching and grinding habits and to make matters worse unlike other habits they are most commonly nocturnal. One cannot really choose to stop doing so as we are normally sleep but steps can be taken to limit the harm from 'bruxism' as it is known. The most common solution for people doing significant harm to their teeth is an appliance called a splint which is an acrylic gum shield which is normally worn over the bottom teeth at night. This provides the dual benefits of protecting teeth from clashing against each other as well as helping to position muscles and joints in a more relaxed and neutral position to help limit pain and discomfort which is often associated with bruxism. Nocturnal grinding is more common during times of stress and sadly in modern life there is no surefire way to reduce stress but ensuring you practice good 'sleep hygiene' by maintaining a regular and reasonable bed time combined with limiting caffeine can help to mitigate stress. There is evidence that stress can be eased with regular exercise but there is no evidence about how this may manifest with regards to tooth wear but more exercise is never a bad thing!
Occlusion- This is the term used in dentistry to describe the way in which peoples teeth meet and can have a significant impact on tooth wear. The best example of this is probably in scenarios where people have what is called an anterior open bite in which the only teeth which meet are the back teeth. As a result of this these teeth are doing a disproportionate amount of work and thus are much more vulnerable to harm. While this is one of the best examples of occlusal issues they can present in myriad different forms and are rarely simple to manage. More often than not the management of them either involves some form of mitigation of the damage or involvement of an orthodontist to alter how the teeth meet but is best discussed at a consultation with your dentist.
Time- The eternal enemy. Sadly if you use anything for long enough one can start to see the impact of usage and as a result with enough time we are all inevitably doomed to suffer a degree of wear and tear. Generally the less harm teeth have suffered in the past the less vulnerable they are to the ravages of time so avoiding decay and thus the treatment that comes as a result can help to minimise the damage that comes with time. This is especially true for amalgam 'silver' filling which have been proven to contribute to chipping and cracking of teeth. Using an electric toothbrush can also reduce the damage you do to your teeth as decades of brushing can eventually start to show- there is a tendency to brush too aggressively with manual brushes but with electric toothbrushes the amount of force involved in cleaning is controlled to stop you 'brushing away' your teeth.
So now you know what factors are contributing to tooth wear but what can we do to protect and repair the damage from these factors- we will be addressing this in our next article. Contact us for teeth whitening in Reading.