25 May Spear Occlusion Workshop – May 2018
During this 3 day intensive workshop Dr. German sharpened his skill set to be able to better address tooth wear in our patients.
Tooth wear is the term used to describe the progressive loss of a tooth’s surface due to actions other than those which cause tooth decay or dental trauma. Tooth wear increases with age.
Tooth wear is caused by four phenomena: erosion, attrition, abrasion and abfraction.
Erosion is the loss of tooth substance by chemical or acid interaction. Erosion can occur for a number of reasons; in an individual that drinks too many acidic or carbonated beverages, in a person that suffers from a gastroesophageal reflux disease or from certain eating disorders, and in individuals with a low amount of saliva.
Attrition is the loss of hard tooth substances caused by tooth against tooth wear.
Abrasion occurs on the biting surfaces of the teeth and is the loss of enamel caused by mechanical actions other than tooth-to tooth contacts. This can be from abrasive foods, from using teeth as a tool and/or are using incorrect tooth brushing techniques.
Abfraction is the loss of tooth materiel along the gumline from tooth flexure. If too much pressure is put on teeth and it causes them to flex, this flexing damages the crystaline structure of the teeth and these damaged portions of the tooth are washed away when eating or brushing. and causes a cupping of the tooth just above the gumline. If present this can often be felt by running a fingernail along the side of the tooth and feeling it catch.
To find out more about tooth wear, how to prevent it and what can be done to restore your teeth contact Prescott Dentistry and schedule a consultation with Dr. German!