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4 Types of WEAR your tooth undergoes

November 2nd,2020

Enamel is the outermost covering of the teeth. Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body (harder than bone) that is designed to withstand a life time of chewing and biting forces. Just like all parts of the body, teeth (enamel) can undergo wear and tear as a normal process, but that is extremely negligible, say around 0.02-0.04 mm a year.

However sometimes enamel can undergo increased wear resulting in functional and/or esthetic problems for the patients. Although it is best left to your dentist to identify the kind of wear, everyone should know the types of tooth wear so that it becomes easy for us identify the cause and treat it

Types of dental wear includes

  1. ATTRITION

Attrition is a type of teeth wear seen on the biting/chewing surfaces of teeth (surface of tooth that comes in contact with another tooth). This occurs due to excessive biting or chewing or due to the habit of abnormal grinding of teeth called as Bruxism. Clearly defined sharp, flat and shiny worn out areas called as wear facets are usually seen. Very often in prolonged cases, complete flattening of all teeth may also be observed.

  • EROSION

Erosion is the kind of wear that happens due to action of acids. This is mostly seen in patients having gastric reflux, patients having a particular eating disorder called BULIMIA and also in patients consuming plenty of carbonated and acidic drinks. These are usually seen on the back sides of the front teeth and on the biting surfaces of back teeth. They appear as dark yellow concave areas surrounded by a whiter elevated margin. Sometimes we can observe thinned down appearance of teeth especially the front ones.

  • ABRASION

Abrasion is a type of wear caused by mechanical forces other than chewing. This commonly includes abnormal brushing habit or wrong brushing technique; forceful brushing using a hard tooth brush and are usually seen on the sides of teeth near the gumline. It is also seen as small cracks or chipping of the edges of front teeth in patients who use their teeth to hold pins, clips, wires etc or as a tool to open bottles.

  • ABFRACTION

This kind of wear happens when abnormal mechanical forces act on teeth causing them to flex resulting in wedge shaped notching at the gum line. Abnormal clenching or grinding of teeth (bruxism) can also result in this kind of wear. This is usually first noticed on the sides of teeth near the gumline when a fingernail catches in that area.

Pictorial representation of each of these types are provided for better understanding.

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