Attrition
See also Headaches & Bite Problems
We are all living longer but sometimes our teeth appear to be wearing out faster than we are!
How will I know if I have dental attrition?
The signs of dental attrition might include:
-
Flattening of back teeth, the natural cusps wear flat
-
Shortening of front teeth with flat angular edges
-
Wear facets that match perfectly with a corresponding facet in the opposing arch of teeth
-
Yellowing of the tops of teeth as enamel wears through to underlying softer dentine
-
Increasing tooth wear especially combined with Erosion and Abrasion
-
Chipping and cracking of teeth and restorations
-
Teeth may be painless or sensitive
-
A white line may appear in the cheek or indentations on the sides of the tongue adjacent to the biting surfaces. Extra bone may form around teeth such as adjacent to lower premolars, called tori
What causes dental attrition?
Attrition is the wearing down of teeth and/or restorations due to tooth to tooth contact. It occurs when opposing teethcontact for long periods of time and with higher pressures than normal. Squeezing the teeth together is called clenching. Grinding the teeth together is called bruxing. Since these acts are not part of normal function (chewing and swallowing) they are called parafunction.Our teeth should normally only meet together for a few minutes in every 24hrs, but if we are parafunctioning this increases significantly and teeth will wear.
Parafunctioning may occur during sleep and so many patients are totally unaware. Others notice that they clench when tense or when doing certain activities. Parafunction is often painless and as tooth wear progresses very gradually it is easily overlooked. Some patients may experience cold and touch sensitivity, like an electric shock when the neck of the tooth is touched by a finger nail. This is because the neck of the tooth flexes and cracks with excessive forces which together with erosion and abrasion can create a wedge like lesion called an abfraction cavity.
What should I do to minimise the risk of dental attrition / parafunction?
-
Sometimes the tooth wear is adaptive and will have stopped automatically. It is wise to ask the dental team to take clinical photographs and impressions for study models enabling future comparison.
-
Avoid excessive use of chewing gum
-
If you are aware of consciously clenching your teeth together, try to reduce this habit
-
Identify whether, when and why any parafunction is occurring. This could be due to tension, bite discrepancies, habits or neurological traits. The dental team will be able to guide you to an appropriate diagnosis and management. Depending on the cause the management might involve counselling, exercises, medication, splint therapy and/or protection, equilibration, restoration or orthodontic /orthognathic surgery.
-
Because all tooth wear is likely to be multifactorial also follow preventive action for erosion and abrasion
Get In Touch
We hope our website has given you an insight to our practice and how we like to work. We welcome any questions and hope we’ll have the opportunity to talk with you soon.
Please telephone 01386 422833 or contact us online (to ask a question, request a call back or make a new patient enquiry).