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Posts for: February, 2012
Even with good dental hygiene and care, your teeth may show signs of wear as you age. Fortunately, we now have ways to treat these symptoms of aging and restore a youthful look and function to your teeth and jaws.
How Do Teeth Wear?
All the tissues in your body are constantly in a process of breaking down (catabolism) and rebuilding (anabolism). During childhood the anabolic processes exceed the catabolic processes. But after you have reached physical maturity the balance changes and the breakdown process begins to draw ahead of the building up. The result: signs of wear.
In your teeth, the outer layer, the enamel, is a hard, mineralized substance that is resistant to wear. Under the enamel is a layer called dentin, which is a living tissue something like bone. As teeth age, the dentin layer thickens, causing teeth to lose some of their whiteness. Most wear to your teeth comes from the pressure of the upper and lower teeth's biting surfaces against each other. How much wear occurs depends on your bite or occlusion (how the teeth are aligned, and how they meet) and the ways in which you use your teeth.
Constant interactions between the biting surfaces of your teeth result in removal of small amounts of enamel. Your body naturally compensates for this wearing away of material. As teeth wear, they erupt from your jaws by tiny amounts, moving slightly up or down to stay in the proper occlusal relation with the teeth on the other jaw. They also slowly move toward the front of your mouth.
If the wear becomes excessive, your body can no longer compensate for it. At this point you may find that your bite relationships are not working correctly, and the lower third of your face loses height. This creates or accentuates an older appearance.
Some people clench or grind their teeth, applying greater than normal — and damaging — forces to their teeth. This problem, often a reaction to stress, is called bruxism. It can cause a number of problems from jaw pain to loose teeth or excessive wear or tooth fractures. If you suffer from excessive wear due to bruxism, a professionally made mouthguard may prevent further damage.
Modern Dentistry Can Restore a Youthful Look
Modern dentistry can successfully restore the normal shape, appearance and function of worn teeth by installing porcelain crowns or veneers. These not only replace the tooth structure lost through wear, but they also restore the bite relationship. Crowns on excessively worn teeth can dramatically improve tooth color and facial appearance, resulting in a more harmonious, younger look.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about dental wear and aging. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “How and Why Teeth Wear.”
Every parent, caregiver, coach, sports fan and especially injured party dreads the moment when an injury to the mouth occurs during a sporting event. The first thought observers have after looking closely to see if it is their child or someone they know is, “I hope someone knows what to do!” Do you know what to do in case of a dental sports emergency? Test your dental injury IQ with this simple, quick quiz. The answers are listed at the bottom of this article.
Dental Injury IQ
- If a tooth (including its root) is totally knocked out, what can you safely store it in while finding a dentist within 5 minutes of the injury?
- Water or salt water
- Milk (preferably cold)
- Inside the cheek (mouth) of the injured person
- All of the above
- True or False: Immediately following the injury, fresh cold tap water or bottled water is the best way to remove debris from where a tooth was knocked out.
- If a tooth has shifted from its original position following an injury, you should...
- See a dentist within 5 minutes
- See a dentist within 6 hours
- See a dentist within 12 hours
- Only see a dentist if the tooth is not better in a few days
- True or False: You treat a knocked out baby tooth in the same manner as you do a permanent tooth.
- The most important thing to do to save a tooth that has been completely knocked out of the mouth is toâ¦
- See a dentist as soon as possible
- Replant the tooth within 5 minutes
- Stop the bleeding before re-planting the tooth
- Rinse the tooth with fresh, clean water
The Answers
1) d = all of the above, 2) true, 3) b = see a dentist within 6 hours, 4) false – baby teeth are typically not replanted, 5) b = replant the tooth within 5 minutes
Want To Learn More?
Contact us today to discuss your questions or to schedule an appointment. You can also learn more about treating dental injuries when you read the Dear Doctor article, “The Field-Side Guide To Dental Injuries.” Or, you can download a FREE, pocket-sized guide for managing dental injuries.