Can Worn Down Teeth Be Fixed?
You already know how important it is to brush your teeth twice a day, floss, and maintain regular dental appointments. By keeping up these habits regularly, you can help prevent long term tooth damage and even tooth loss that result from gum disease and tooth decay. Regular dental exams will help determine if you have other issues affecting your teeth like grinding, clenching, or worn enamel.
When you have been diagnosed with bruxism, you may clench and grind your teeth while you sleep or even throughout the day. Not only do you end up with a sore jaw, but you can cause problems with your bite and your teeth. The pressure and friction between your upper and lower jaw can leave the enamel on those teeth weaker or even absent all together. Your teeth rely on the enamel to protect the softer, inner layers. Without enamel, you expose the dentin of your teeth which is not as resilient as your enamel and your nervous tissue has less protection as well. Your tooth enamel helps your teeth to be one of the strongest bones in your body but it cannot be replaced or regrown. Instead, you will need to work with the dentist to determine the best treatment for your type of tooth wear. The dentist may suggest dental bonding, porcelain veneers, or crowns to help protect your teeth from further damage or needing to be replaced all together.
Tooth Bonding
The same material that the dentist uses to fill your cavities after removing the decay can be used to give the tooth an added protective layer. The composite resin is soft, moldable, and tooth colored giving you the look that matches your other natural teeth and the same shape as your damaged tooth. The material can be used to fill in chips, cracks, cosmetic imperfections, normal wear over time, and more serious damage while keeping your existing tooth and not damaging the surrounding teeth. The bonding can be placed on your tooth as it is now and the remaining healthy, strong parts of your tooth can be untouched and unaffected.
Porcelain Veneers
Tooth bonding may be an ideal choice for you but it is not the most durable material and it is not stain resistant. Instead, you can talk to the dentist about porcelain veneers to address your worn teeth or any other cosmetic imperfections. A porcelain veneer is a very thin layer of porcelain that sits on top of your existing teeth and they can protect the teeth in addition to changing the color, shape and placement of the teeth. Most porcelain veneers can be completed within two appointments and leave you with the smile you have wanted to share with the world.
Tooth Reshaping
Compared to porcelain veneers and dental bonding, tooth reshaping is the least invasive and most restrained of approaches. The dentist can address teeth that have been flattened by reshaping the tooth with more natural curves. If you have minor chips, the dentist may be able to reshape them without the use of anesthesia.