If your teeth have a worn appearance, it's possible you have a habit you're not even aware of: clenching or grinding your teeth. Also called “bruxism,” this destructive action causes your top and bottom teeth to come together or scrape past each other with a force that's many times what is normal for biting and chewing.
So what's normal? This can be expressed in terms of pounds. An adult usually exerts a force of 13-23 pounds to bite or chew food. But we have the potential to generate as much as 230 pounds of force, or 10 times what's normal. A “parafunctional” force of this magnitude applied repeatedly is bound to stress your teeth and other areas of your oral system. Besides wearing away the enamel of your teeth — and maybe even some of the softer dentin layer underneath — you may experience muscle spasms or pain in your jaw joints. Serious cases of wear can lead to “bite collapse” in which your face actually changes shape as your cheeks and lips lose support. This can make you look prematurely aged.
What can be done? To prevent further wear, we can fabricate for you a thin, plastic mouthguard that will protect your teeth at night or during times of intense stress. We can also recommend ways to temporarily relieve the discomfort that your grinding/clenching habits can cause. Heat and/or anti-inflammatory medication, for example, can be helpful.
If your tooth wear is minor (raggedness along the biting edge of a tooth or teeth) you may not need any restorative work. However, if tooth wear has already caused changes to your teeth and bite that you find aesthetically or functionally unacceptable, we can restore lost tooth structure in a variety of ways. Veneers and crowns are two examples.
If you have any questions about tooth wear or grinding habits, please contact us today to schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “How And Why Teeth Wear.”
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- Transform Your Smile with Porcelain Veneers
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- Dental Implants Better than Ever thanks to Ongoing Tech Advances
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- Take a Look into Your Future with a Trial Smile
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- Chewing Tobacco is Just as Addictive and Dangerous as Smoking
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- May (5)
- Clean Your Implants Just Like you Clean Your Natural Teeth
- Tooth-Colored Fillings Provide a Viable Alternative to Dental Amalgam
- No- or Minimal-Prep Veneers Reduce Permanent Alterations to Your Teeth
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- April (5)
- The Top 3 Oral Problems in America - and What You Should Do About Them
- See Your new Look Before Dental Work with a 'Trial Smile'
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- Keep the Space between an Implant-Supported Bridge and the Gums Clean
- Don't Let Smoking Increase Your Chances of Implant Failure
- February (5)
- Try Conservative Measures to Treating TMD Before More Aggressive Options
- New Crowns Give Both Durability and Beauty to Problem Teeth
- Actress Emma Stone Reveals How Thumb Sucking Affected Her Teeth
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- 2016
- June (5)
- Getting the Full Picture of Your Decay Risk Leads to Better Prevention Strategies
- Consider a Removable Partial Denture as a Temporary Solution After Tooth Loss
- Not all Crowns are Alike - or Cost the Same
- Dr. Travis Stork: If Only I'd Worn A Mouthguard!
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- March (5)
- Though not Always Seen, it's Still Important to Replace a Missing Back Tooth
- Keep an Eye on your Gums to Catch Disease Early
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- 2015
- December (5)
- Gaining a New Attractive Smile is More than Achievable
- Master Illusionist Benefits from the Magic of Orthodontics
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- 2014
- August (6)
- How Dentistry Saved Kathy Ireland's Smile
- Bad Breath Might be a Sign of a More Serious Oral Condition
- 7 Habits to Avoid While Brushing Your Teeth
- Dental Hygienist - Your Partner in Preventing Disease and Maintaining Oral Health
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- December (5)
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